To Save the Kingdom
by WitchyElphaba
Summary: The Keyblade still quivers with unknown powers,and mysterious story has been uncovered.Secrets lie untold,they are kept from one another,and it is up to Sora to uncover the new mysteries.What other knowledges and mysteries lie ahead?Post KHII [ch. 8 up]
1. Prologue

Alright, here goes the result of devoting many hours of playing Kingdom Hearts and comming up with endless crazy theories!

This is what I see happening after the events of Kingdom Hearts II. Although I will use my theories derived from events in the games and the secret videos, I feel wrong to call this Kingdom Hearts III. This is just the result of brainstorming the games and comming out with rather odd conclusions. In a way, this story is made to give myself closure with the current games, and I hope a lot of you will enjoy it as well.

I will use a few original characters, at the most, maybe two. I pomise with all my heart I will keep them as far away from "Mary-Sues" as possible (one isn't even female). They are not there for original game characters to fall in love with, nor to be better than Sora or Riku, nor to be useless eye-candy, and so on, but I do plan on making them quite active in the story.

I will (and do) greatly appreciate reviews, but please, if you don't like this story and absolutely hate it's guts with all your mights, then don't bother yourself in reviewing this. Or at least, please refrain from cruel putdowns.

The main pairing is SoraxKairi, and more than likely will remain as the only pairing. I will focus a little on their developing romance.

**Disclaimer**: "Kingdom Hearts" and it's characters are property of Square-Enix and Disney, but I claim credit for the two original characters that will be found later on in this story. So I'd really like it if other fan fiction writers do NOT take my characters and claim them as their own. If you'd like to use them, please let me know.

* * *

**To Save the Kingdom  
Prologue**

Sora had returned home after nearly two years of being away, and had been welcomed back with open arms. Although he wasn't used to sitting still for much longer than two minutes, Sora had adapted to being back home, and for the first time in a very long time, was able to relax. He was actually excited to return to school, not for the attention he would recieve, but for being a normal teenager once more.

The Keyblade, however, was still with Sora; he rarely called for it, but he could feel it within him, quivering with power. Its presence constantly reminded Sora that he was not entirely a normal teenager, and that although he may have finished his intended journey, the Keyblade had not. The Keyblade did not leave Sora, which meant that Sora would have to complete the journey for the Keyblade himself, someday. _Someday, not now._

King Mickey had decided that Sora and Riku deserved their last rays of innocence before being plunged into the hardships of adulthood. They were, however, wise beyond their years, and deserved more than many adults would ever deserve. The trio deserved as much of the truth as they could handle, and King Mickey would give it to them.

Sora had only been back home for a few short weeks when Kairi had come up running to Sora and Riku, waving a bottle with a letter inside. The three had huddled together and read it, and when the three had finished reading, they looked at each other: Kairi looked worried, Riku looked amused, and Sora was blank.

Riku had known that this would happen. They were destined for greater things. While Sora had easily re-adaptaded to their calm surroundings, Riku was not. Yes, it felt great to be back in the safety of his home, but his work was unfinished. Riku knew the ways of the darkness, and was possibly the only one that used the power of darkness for the good of the worlds. He could easily feel his element being tampered with, and whoever it was, they were abusing it. Riku was restless, and eagerly awaited the departure into this next adventure, anxious to set things right again, and to make up for his stupidity, even though Sora had said numerous amounts of times that there was no need for it.

It had been one shock to learn she was a Princess of Heart, and yet another to realize she had the ability to weild a Keyblade. Kairi's talents and knowledge with the weapon were undoubtedly far short than those of Sora and Riku's, yet she had the weapon. She was more than anxious to find out more, but every new journey had unmasked an untold truth about her. What should she expect this time? She had been the one to fret the most about the letter, and was probably more nervous than anxious. Still, she accepted it, and was glad that she would have the company of her two best friends along this next journey.

A year had passed since Sora, Riku and Kairi had huddled together and read the letter anxiously, and now, Sora sat on his bed, gazing out his bedroom window. This time, he was prepared; Sora's gaze swept across his room, over to the far wall, where many of his posessions were packed away, ready to go. He'd leave in the morning. He was excited, there was no doubt about that; Sora never missed an opportunity to meet new people, and to see new worlds. At least he'd be able to hug his parents goodbye, and give a proper goodbye to his home. Not that he was leaving permanently. He'd be back; the King only said he'd be away for the summer. Sora, however, doubted that he would wrap up his destiny in the span of one summer.

Sora admitted to himself that he was nervous, but he couldn't help his always-present excitement. Although what awaits him may be dangerous, what's life without a few risks, anyways? This time, he'd have the company of his friends, and finally set out their dream of visiting the worlds together. Wherever they want, whatever they learned, whatever happened, Sora would still grow up with his friends, and that was enough to give Sora more stamina to keep on going.

Thousands of sparkling lights can be seen in the sky at night. There are thousands of worlds scattered through the sky, and none are the same. The worlds have hearts, as Sora had learned. Individuals are unique on their surfaces, but every heart beats in unison.

_There are many worlds, but they all share the same sky... one sky, one destiny..._

There are many mysteries that must be uncovered, there is so much knowledge to learn and acquire, and new friends to make. New friends... and new enemies.

Sora shrugged and grinned to himself. He couldn't wait. Allowing himself one last glance out towards his Island, and to the sea's horizon beyond that, Sora stretched out and lay back down on his bed, placing his arms behind his head, and stared at the ceiling. He couldn't wait to work alongside Riku, who he knew had not only grown in height (he _was_ too freakishly tall, Sora had mused), and couldn't wait to help Kairi grow in strength.

He couldn't wait until dawn.

* * *

Chapter One comming VERY soon. Reviews are much appreciated! 


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

_A very long time ago, the worlds that children see as stars, scattered throughout the night sky, lived as one world: the Kingdom. The Kingdom was a huge, magnificant world, diverse with species and scenery. For aeons, it lived as a perfect, peaceful world, abundant with light, protected from the feared darkness, and ruled by the wisest Elders, the bravest men, and the purest maidens, and the world was protected from the darnkess by a huge heart of light nestled within it's core._

_The Kingdom was the source of every possible landscape, from towering mountains to deep oceans, steaming deserts to subzero arctics, tropical paradises to urban cities, and everything in between. Creatures of every race roamed freely, happily, without worries of being out of place, for every individual belonged somewhere in the Kingdom. Happiness seemed neverending, and the Kingdom remained a utopia for many, many years._

_It was then, one fated day, when two began to fight over the light. Both wished their children as much ight as possible, so that they may live happier than before. These two wanted more light than the other, and the greed caused the darkness to be born for the first time. The Elder of these two warned against their wants, and asked them to cease their greed. For a while the two stopped their quest for more than they needed, and agreed to live with what they had. Over time, they felt their families still did not have enough light to live with, and continued to fight over more light. The families of these two joined, and eventually, so did the friends of the two._

_The darkness born from this greed was at first small, as there was plenty of light to conquer it at first. Then, more and more individuals sought out for more light, fearing the darkness would overcome them, and began to fight--_

The rest of the writing was blotted out by a small pool of drool oozing out of the sleeping teenager's mouth. It was late, and the light of the midnight moon spilled through the library's windows, onto the books on the table around Sora, who's head lay on the ancient, leatherbound book. Sora had been unable to sleep, and the hour being late, he had decided not to bother or wake anybody, but instead wandered to the library, hoping to find something to entertain his mind.

The library inside Ansem's castle, which resided in the Radiant Garden, seemed to carry every source of information that Sora could possibly hope for, although he wasn't looking for anything in particular. Sora had wandered the shelves, leafing through random stories that appeared entertaining. He had taken a few books down to the table below the library's staircase and began to read. To his disappointment, the stories he found were nothing more than dull fairy tales. He had reached this certain book and flipped through until he found this particular story. It seemed his mind had long wandered off, as his head had suddenly flopped onto the book, and almost immediately had begun to snore.

The library's door opened, and a small figure in a small, red robe walked in from the upper floor. The light from the person's candle danced off the books and shelves, and the small figure looked over the railing of the upper floors. He squinted and recognized Sora, then let out a chuckle. Holding his candle high, King Mickey made his way towards the stairs and towards Sora.

Mickey hopped onto a seat near Sora, then cocked his head and looked at the open book. It looked vaguely familiar; perhaps he had seen it on his first visit to Radiant Garden, when he had first spoken to Ansem the Wise. Seeing that Sora didn't appear to be very comfortable in this sleeping position, and that the book was currently recieving slight water damage from Sora's drool, he decided it was best to wake him up.

"Um, Sora?"

The boy didn't stir. Mickey hesitated, then reached out and slightly shook his shoulder.

"Sora?"

"Idonwanna!" cried the teenager suddenly.

Sora's head sprang up, his eyes glazed with confusion. He looked around wildly before he remembered where he was, then looked to find the voice that had awoken him. The individual was not sitting on the other chair at the table, so Sora looked to the floor, where the king was sprawled on his back, having toppled over in shock. Sora leapt out of his seat to help Mickey up, who let out a shakey chuckle.

"Gosh, Sora, ya really scared me!" he said, getting back on his feet with Sora's help. He walked over to the table Sora had been sitting at, and curiously pulled the thick book towards him. "Watcha readin' there?"

"Oh, I couldn't sleep, so I just wandered in here, and looked through the shelves. I came across that, it seemed somewhat interesting, at least more than these," Sora indicated toward the other pile of books on the desk. "I didn't seem to get too far into it, though, I fell asleep pretty fast..."

Sora looked at King Mickey, who closed the book and took it in his arms. His usually friendly face had creased into a slight frown.

"Is something wrong?" Sora asked.

The king shook his head, and his face relaxed, though Sora had been quick enough to catch that glimpse of worry.

"Oh, it's nothin', it's just, I think I read this before," Mickey said, opening the book once again and rifling through it's pages.

"It said something about a key...it sorta caught my eye," Sora said, sitting back down.

"There're several stories out there, Sora. Not everyone knows the Keyblade actually exists," explained Mickey, still looking through the book.

"The Keyblade?" Sora asked, looking at the book. "I didn't think the book was actually about the Keyblade...have you read this before? What does it say?"

The King looked up, then closed the book

"It's pretty late, Sora, you should head off to bed. We're leaving tomorrow night. Don't worry about these," said Mickey, as Sora moved to pick up the books to place them back on their shelves. "Just head to bed, remember, you're scoutin' the place tomorrow!"

Sora hesitated, then nodded. "Alright then, goodnight Your Majesty."

"Gosh, Sora, how many times do I have to tell ya that ya don't have to call me that?" said Mickey, setting the book back on the table. Sora grinned.

"I'll try. Well, 'night," and with that, Sora left the library.

King Mickey watched Sora leave with a smile, but it vanished when the doors shut behind the teenage boy. With the book in his arms, Mickey made his way up the stairs and towards the pedestal with a revolving shelf. He placed the book on there, but opened it back to the still-soggy page that Sora had been sleeping on.

_The darkness born from this greed was at first small, as there was plenty of light to conquer it at first. Then, more and more individuals sought out for more light, fearing the darkness would overcome them, and began to fight over it. As darkness consumed the heart of many, the Elder's feared the darnkess would reach the heart of the Kingdom._

_They felt the heart of the Kingdom should be hidden away, and decided to lock all knowledge of it's location within a maiden with the purest heart. In order to do so, the Elder's believed a special key was to be constructed. And so, the Elder's sought out to make a key: a unique key that could only be held by someone chosen especially for that purpose--_

King Mickey shut the book; he knew this story. He had read it when he was younger, back in his home world. Mickey turned the pedestal, so the book was hidden away. It was best that Sora didn't find this, for the time being.

* * *

"So, why aren't you in there, Yuffie?" Sora asked the ninja. The two were making their way across the entrance hall, and Sora had glimpsed to the library doors, behind which Leon, Aerith, Cid and King Mickey were currently discussing...something, at least, something Sora didn't know. 

"I usually fall asleep at the meetings," Yuffie said, stepping ahead and opening the great doors. "Besides, we don't always have the Keyblade Master around here to hang out with!" she added with a grin.

Sora grinned back at her and stepped outside. The Radiant Garden was truly starting to live up to it's name; the town was still being worked on but nevertheless it looked much more pleasant to the eye. The Restoration Committee had moved on to the restoration of Ansem's castle, which still needed a lot of work, but Sora had been surprised to see the library quite untouched by the chaos that had occurred here well over two years ago: the amount of dust that had gathered on the books was probably the most damage the library had recieved. Some parts of the castle were very much destroyed and it would probably take some time before they were completely restored; many of the sleeping chambers, however, were in perfect condition to be used, and Sora had slept very comfortable the past four days he had been here.

"Where're your friends, anyways?" asked Yuffie, as they stepped onto a lift outside the castle.

"Riku's with Donald, they're at the Colosium with Phil for a few days, and Kairi's at the Disney Castle with the Queen, and Goofy, I think," Sora explained, stepping onto the lift himself.

"Why is Donald with Riku?" she asked.

"I don't know, I just know that they wanted to get some training. I bet Riku's driving Donald mad," Sora laughed, recalling the duck's short temper and his friend's cooly intimidating nature.

Yuffie glimpsed at Sora, then smiled mischievious grin pread across her face.

"So, about Kairi... have you kissed her yet?"

Sora's face flushed so quickly that he felt slightly light-headed for a quick moment.

"Uh, I...um, what're you...where're we going, anyways?" Sora asked, not only trying to find a reason to get off the subject of kissing a girl, but also taking notice of the water they were standing on.

Yuffie, taking Sora's stuttered answer as a "no", decided not to press on the subject of his love life.

"I need to take a quick peek at the castle's sewers. Cid says there's something wrong with the piping on the fourth floor, something about getting a nasty surprise when flushing the toilet..."

Sora snorted to suppress his laughter, but imagining Cid yelling out colorful words as he ran out of his bathroom covered in toilet filth was too funny to pass up laughter.

Leaping up, the two jumped into an air bubble, which carried them under the water, under the rocks, and to the entrance of the sewers. Sora and Yuffie leapt out of the bubbles and made their way inside.

"You act like you've been here before," Yuffie said, catching up to Sora, who had already started to walk forward.

"I _have_, I had to unlock the door from down here when I first came here," Sora said.

"Oh, really? Wow, that must've sucked."

Sora mostly followed Yuffie, who was examining the gates and the piping. The sewers hadn't changed much: it seemed that the chaos of the Heartless never actually reached down here. Sora had remembered thinking that Hollow Bastion must've been an elaborate world, especially if it's waterways and sewers were so beautifully constructed. It had been a pain, though, to decipher the key buttons to reach the door's contraption.

They found the source of the busted toilet piping near the many gears that locked and unlocked the castle's vast doors. Covered with grime and other muck Sora didn't want to know about, the two decided not to bother any attempt of repairing the pipe. Instead, Yuffie had decided that they return to the castle and leave the repairing to an expert, although the two imagined that Cid himself would be sent down here to fix it.

As Yuffie made final checks on the locks of the many gates in the sewers, Sora wandered ahead. He'd be leaving later that day, probably to join Riku and Donald in the Colosium. He'd probably be put to fight against Riku, this time, not as enemies, but as friends, competing their strengths like they used to back on the Destiny Island's. They'd be training to grow stronger alongside one another.

Then after that, it'd be off to Disney Castle, where Kairi was waiting for him. He wondered if she had discovered some of the castle's unique traits, such as the walking broomstick servants, or the magnificant Cornerstone of Light. Sora grinned to himself as his imagination took him to the castle's garden. He pictured himself walking alongside her, marveling at the shrub structures, and finally being alone with her. Maybe then, he'd finally...

_Why're you kidding yourself? You don't even have the guts to hold her hand!_

_'Yeah, well...Riku would tease us...'_

_He knows, everyone does! There's nothing to be afraid of..._

_'I know, it's not like she doesn't know...'_

_That hug in the Castle that Never Was doesn't count._

_'Yeah, it does!'_

_That was a 'welcome back' hug, not an 'I lo--'_

Sora stopped dead in his tracks. He had wandered into the hidden dungeon just beside the entrance: Sora remembered blasting the wall open on one of his early visits to the place. It wasn't the fact that he was back in there that shocked him. It was the fact that somebody was lying, face down, on the floor.

"Uh...Yuffie? Yuffie!" Sora called out. "Get down here, there's somebody down here!"

Hearing Yuffie's muffled steps heading towards him, Sora cautiously made his way towards the unconcious figure. The person was covered in a huge, black travelling coat. Judging by the person's size, it was a man. Sora edged scanned the room as Yuffie entered, and there it was, lying on the floor in a corner of the room: a huge, oversized sword wrapped in strips of cloth.

Sora's eyes shot back to the man, whom Yuffie had rolled over, so the man was on his back. The coat's high collar covered most of the man's face, but the long, spiky blonde hair was unmistakable.

"That's not...is that..._Cloud_?"

The two knelt besides the man, Yuffie lowering the collar. It was definately Cloud. Sora gaped at him.

"How'd he get down here?"

* * *

To be continued very soon... 

Reviews are much appreciated!


	3. Chapter Two

I got lucky enough to finish this within the week, my inspiration really seems to be kicking in.

Anywho, enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Two**

"Is he...?"

"Nope, he's breathing all right..." Yuffie said, placing a hand on Cloud's chest. Sora turned away and knelt down next to Cloud's buster sword. The blade was well-worn and somewhat rusted, but it didn't appear as though it had been used in recent combat. Looking further around the room, there didn't appear to be any sign of a strugle at all.

"C'mere, Sora, we need to get him up to the castle, I don't think he'll be very comfortable here," Yuffie stood up, then bent down and grasped Cloud's left arm. Sora hurried over and took hold of Cloud's right arm, placing it over his shoulders and behind his head. "We'll come back for the sword."

Sora and Yuffie trudged out of the dungeon room, but found it impossible to leap up into the air bubble with Cloud unconcious. Their shoulders starting to ache already, they set Cloud down, sitting him up against the wall.

"C'mon, Cloud, wake up," Yuffie lightly slapped his face, but the blonde didn't stir.

"Maybe one of us should go get some help," he thought out loud. He moved forward towards the bubble. "I'll be right back."

"Hey, wait, you stay here, I'll go," Yuffie stood up and ran ahead of Sora.

"Why? I know my way around here too..."

"Remember, they're in a meeting."

"So? I just have to knock..."

But Yuffie had already leapt into the bubble, and Sora watched as the bubble floated out of sight. Slightly confused, Sora turned around and knelt down next to Cloud.

His black coat seemed rather worn, as if he had been traveling. Where had he been? And as he thought about it, Sora hadn't heard any mention of Cloud on his current visit to Radient Garden. The last time Sora had seen Cloud had been about a year ago: Sora vividly remembered watching Cloud's fight against Sephiroth, and remembered as the two leapt into the air and disappeared in a flash of light.

Sora rarely spoke to Cloud, but he had an utmost respect for him; Cloud was engaged in a great battle against his own darkness, yet still hadn't succumbed to it. _Don't lose sight of it...your light..._ No wonder he looked so wiped out

But...what was he doing here? And how did he end up here?

Cloud stired and let out a groan. Sora stood up and rummaged through his pockets, but realized he had left his stock of potions and elixirs back in his room, for which he considered himself stupid.

If only Donald were here to cast Cure...

_'Wait, _I _can cast it!'_

_Wow, you really are slow._

Ignoring Him, Sora summoned his Keyblade-- for the first time in days-- and pointed it at Cloud. "Heal!"

The swirls of green and gold leaves and dust spiraled around the blonde. Cloud stirred a little more, and after a moment, opened his eyes. Sora knelt back down.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Cloud gazed around the waterway before looking at Sora. For a moment, he simply stared at the teenager, then suddenly leapt up.

"Where are they?"

Cloud swayed dangerously and Sora moved forward to keep him from crashing back towards the floor.

"Whoa, be careful there."

Sora helped Cloud settle back down on the floor.

"Where...uh...where'd you come from?"

Cloud stared blankly at the wall in front of him. "I'm not sure."

With the Keyblade still in his hand, Sora knelt back down besides Cloud. "Who're you looking for?"

He recieved no response. Instead, it was Cloud's turn to ask a question.

"Where are we?"

"Radiant Garden." Sora paused. "How'd you get down here?"

Again, all Sora recieved as a response was silence, but then Cloud abruptly answered.

"I don't know, actually."

"Well, you obviously didn't come on a Gummi ship or we'd have seen you at the landing port..."

Sora remembered his first visit to this place, at the time when it had been called Hollow Bastion. He had met the Beast here, and had learned that he made it all the way to this world from his with no vessel, but with pure determination. Had Cloud just done the same?

Cloud's eyes moved to Sora's Keyblade.

"There was one similar to that."

Confused, Sora looked at his Keyblade, then at Cloud.

"What're you talking about?"

But as Cloud remained silent, it slowly trickled into Sora. "_Similar to that_"_...similar to a _Keyblade

"Wait, are you saying you saw--?"

Sora looked up, the footsteps echoing in the hallway cutting him off, and saw Yuffie heading back towards them, with Leon and Aerith behind her. Sora stood up and moved out of the way as Leon helped Cloud get up to his feet, then called out for Yuffie to help him. Nobody spoke as Leon and Yuffie helped Cloud out of the waterway passage, and Sora merely watched, wondering if he could possibly interrogate Cloud before he left later that day.

Aerith turned to Sora. "Where was he?"

"Oh, he was in there," Sora pointed back to the dungeon room."He was alone in there, and unconscious. He doesn't know how he even ended up there." Sora paused. "Will I be able to talk to him later?"

"Why?"

"I...uh, he mentioned something..."

"I'm not sure. Let's head back, we'll see how he's doing."

Sora nodded, then dismissed his Keyblade. He needed to tell the king.

_'Another Keyblade?'_

_You're not the only one who can bear one, you know._

_'I know! I know Riku has one...and Kairi, and King Mickey. And you, too.'_

_I don't really count, but why are you so surprised?_

Why was he surprised? He only knew of five people in recent times to actually hold a Keyblade, including himself; other than that, he didn't know anybody else.

_He only said it was similar. Don't drive yourself crazy._

Sora smirked to himself. Yeah... just similar... of course it would've reminded Cloud of the Keyblade, of Sora.

Aerith and Sora made it back, very shortly, to the castle's entrance, and made their way to the library. King Mickey was in there by himself, and looked back from the shelf as they entered.

"Is he alright?"

"He'll be fine. Just a little washed out. He has no idea how he got here in the first place."

They all turned to see Leon walk in.

"Is he awake? Can I go see him?" Sora piped up before anyone else spoke. Leon raised an eyebrow.

"Since when were you two bosom friends?"

Aerith giggled lightly. Sora ignored her and Leon's comment.

"I...he brought up something..." he turned and faced the King. "He said that where ever he came from, he saw 'something similar'...he was looking that the Keyblade, I was holding it."

"Don't you think it was just another weapon?" Leon asked.

"Cloud did seem pretty washed out, maybe he was just imagining it, or maybe he just randomly remembered it."

"I have to ask him," Sora stated. Everybody simply looked at him.

"We have to leave soon, Sora. Phil is waitin' for us," said the king. Catching the look on Sora's face, he added. "We'll drop by before you go home, though. there's still plenty to do here!"

Sora hesitated, then nodded. King Mickey stepped forward. "Get your things ready, we're leaving in about an hour."

Sora nodded again, then left the library. Leon turned to the other two.

"Do you think Cloud may have accidentally found one?" he asked. Aerith placed a hand to her chin in thought.

"It's possible. But Cloud has a tendancy to over-exert himself a lot, then..."

"Hallucinate?" Leon offered. Aerith shrugged.

"Not exactly, but something like that."

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to really find out," said Mickey, as he headed out of the library. He paused at the door. "Find out where he was, then try to send us a message as soon as possible, if ya could."

Leon and Aerith nodded, and King Mickey walked out of the room.

* * *

Sora's curiousity towards Cloud's words still distracted him throughout the process of packing away his things, but it was pushed out of his mind when he headed towards the Gummi ship. 

He'd been on it numerous times, but everytime he saw the ship, a rush of excitement flowed through him: it reminded him of his first adventures with Donald and Goofy, and the promises of seeing new worlds, and the hopes of returning home. Sora loved traveling to other worlds, meeting with new and familiar people, and knew he would never grow tired of it.

Settled in his seat next to King Mickey, Sora helped set in the coordinates for the Colosium. He grinned as he remembered the sight he'd seen when they'd left Riku there a few days earlier: the Colosium was nearly restored to it's former grandure, and he couldn't wait to set foot in it once more, especially now, as he had finally been dubbed a "true hero" by Phil on his last visit.

The Gummi ship rose into the air and shot into the sky. The king glanced at the teenager, and smiled at the boy's excitement. It was great to see such a radiant youth in dark times.

Sora pushed the warp button, and the Gummi ship burst towards the Colosium.

* * *

To be continued very soon (I hope)!

Reviews are much appreciated!


	4. Chapter Three

Wow, I sure came up with this chapter quicker than I expected, but it's a three-day weekend with not much work, so hoorah! 

I can tell, however, that this is going to be one long story. Oh noes? We'll see.

* * *

**Chapter Three**

The soft alarm began beeping throughout the Gummi ship, alerting Sora that they'd be arriving at the Colosium in a few minutes. Sora hastily looked through his traveling case and rummaged for clothing more suitable for combat: he didn't know how Riku had mastered fighting in jeans, but Sora didn't dare himself to try it.

Digging deeper through his clothes, Sora found the clothing the Three Good Fairies had given to him a year ago. Despite having worn them quite frequently the year before, they never faded in color and never tore. Besides, they gave him quite the boost while fighting.

"Sora, we're here!" he heard King Mickey shout from the cockpit.

Sora quickly began to change, leaving his clothes in a heap wherever they landed, and began to search for his trainers somewhere in the mess of the cargo-hold. Finally finding them behind a giant box of dog food (probably meant for Pluto), Sora hurried out of the room, hopping on one foot as he struggled to run and put his shoe on at the same time.

The landing ramp was down, and he assumed King Mickey was off the Gummi ship already. He hurried down the ramp, now struggling to put his jacket on, and heard a familiar, taunting laugh.

"Did ya fall asleep on the ride here, Sora?" the silver-haired boy walked towards him. "I don't think it's that long of a ride here."

"Shut up, Riku," Sora said, although he grinned. He looked around: they were standing outside the gates of the Colosium, and some several yeards behind him stood the swirling portal to the Underworld. Another path led away from both the Colosium and the Underworld, and Sora assumed it led to the nearby town or city. "Where's the king?"

"He headed inside with Phil," Riku said, as the two headed through the massive doors and into the Colosium's courtyard. "You never told me how hard he pushes you..."

"Wait 'till he unleashes the Titans on you," Sora muttered. He hoped there weren't any more of those to deal with. "What has he been having you do?"

"Fight Hercules, or Donald. He teams us up sometimes too. Donald actually shocked me into unconciousness with Thundaga two days ago."

Sora snorted. "Did you get him _that_ ticked off?"

"Probably. He was just mad that I won against him the day before. If anything that wasn't a common Thundaga, more like a 'Thundagagagaga' or something," Riku said, and Sora laughed even harder.

Riku lead Sora into the Colosium's lobby, where Mickey, Donald, Phil and Herculese stood. They all turned as Sora and Riku walked in, and Hercules came forward to greet Sora.

"Hey, Sora!" he said, shaking Sora's hand (he didn't notice Sora wince under his crushing grip)."You know, your friend here is pretty good! He one against me when Phil placed us on one-one-one, but he didn't stand against me and Donald together."

"Was it because somebody overdid Thundaga, eh, Donald?" Sora sneered, raising an eyebrow at the duck. As expected, Donald flared up.

"My magic is strong! It's not my fault if you get in it's way!" he angrily quacked. It only led Sora to more laughter. Donald growled, crossed his arms, and turned away. The king chuckled before speaking up.

"Welp, we'd better get to work, I promised Minnie I'd be back home tomorrow. I owe it to her, she's done a lot by herself."

"Is Kairi okay there?" Sora asked. He felt Riku and Hercules smile tauntily at him, and did his best to ignore them.

"Yep, she's helping Daisy keep order in the castle. She's also going around town, helping Goofy make sure everything's okay," Mickey said. Sora nodded.

"Alright then, into the stadium, chumps!" Phil said, herding the group into the fighting arena.

* * *

"Okay, kiddos, this'll be simple. Simply run to the other end of the stadium, and back here, destroying as many pots and barrels as you can. First one to make it back is the winner, capiche?" Phil explained. Sora and Riku nodded.

"Just like back home, huh?" Riku commented.

"Yeah," Sora grinned.

"Yeah, but I've got three words for you two: it ain't that easy," Phil waved a hand, and the pots and barrels apppeared randomly throughout the battle square. "They aren't split evenly for you two, you're gonna have to fight to break 'em. The king is over on your side of the stadium," Phil looked at Riku, "to keep tabs of how many you break, and Hercules doing the same for you," Phil finished, looking at Sora.

The teenagers nodded again. Phil smirked.

"Alright, then, on my count. One..."

Sora and Riku leaned forward, ready to take off in a sprint.

"Two..."

A flash of light, and the Kingdom Key appeared in Sora's hand, the Way to Dawn Keyblade in Riku's.

"Three!"

The young Keyblade Masters took off, remaining neck-to-neck. Riku leapt up, spinning through the air, his Keyblade smashing nearby barrels to splinters. Sora lurched forward into a quick-run before casting Firaga. The flames surrounded Sora, and the barrels burst into flames before crumbling into ashes. They continued to run, Sora now knocking any pot or barrel out of his way, Riku doing the same.

Sora reached the far wall and slashed at it, leaving a mark on the wall to show he did indeed reach it, and immediately launched himself towards the starting line again. He heard Riku slash at the wall behind him and smirked: he had the lead. He broke into many combat moves, splintering barrels, breaking pots, sending them flying everywhere. He was nearly back to the starting line, and burst into the fastest sprint he could muster.

_'Almost there...'_

_Watch out!_

Out of instinct that he shared, Sora spun and swerved to his left, avoiding the pot that Riku had accidentaly (or _was_ it an accident?) sent flying towards Sora. He avoided getting hit by it, but now Riku had a split-second lead. Grumbling, Sora hastened to pick up his momentum again...but, Riku was just slightly ahead of him...the finishing line was feet away...

Sora burst into another quick-run, but Phil called out time just before Sora reached the end.

Riku halted and placed his hands behind his head, breathing deeply. Sora dismissed his Keyblade and bent over, panting, placing his hands on his quivering knees.

_'I lost, didn't I?'_

_Yep, it was really close, though._

Sora looked up to see Hercules, Mickey and Donald making their way towards them. He then looked towards Riku, who was still trying to catch his breath. Sora grinned up at him, then held out a hand.

"Good job."

Riku smirked and slapped his hand. "That pot didn't hit you, did it?"

"Nearly. Did you do that on purpose?" Sora asked, standing up straight now.

"Kinda, I wanted it to get in your way, not whack you."

"Well, that was pretty good, kiddos, and very close!" Phil announced. The little goat-man turned to Mickey and Hercules. "Well, what're the tabs?"

"Riku won the race, but Sora here broke the most pots and barrels," Hercules said.

"Really?" Sora leapt in the air. "Yes!--wait, then who won?"

"I guess it's a tie," Mickey said.

"For now," Riku added. Sora looked at him with a mischevious smile.

"Rematch?" he asked knowingly.

"You betcha," Riku said.

"Oh boy..." Donald sighed.

* * *

The comfortable night breeze blew gently over Sora's face as he sat on the edge of the Gummi ship's landing ramp. Sora drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, staring up at the starry heavens. He didn't appear to be sleepy tonight either, but there was no library around to fall asleep in, so the outdoors would have to do.

_You don't seem to be very sleepy lately. Not since you left home._

_'Yeah.'_

_And...?_

_'What? C'mon, you'd know if something was on my mind.'_

_True, but I don't bust into your thoughts all the time. Spill it, Sora._

_'Spill what? There's nothing.'_

_Worried about the Heartless?_

_'Not really. They're not such a problem now, are they?'_

_The Nobodies?_

_'Only the one that's inside me and bugging me.'_

_Haha. Worried about Kairi?_

_'No--well, kinda...'_

_Heh, you've got nothing to worry about there, but that's not it, is it?_

_'No...'_

_But you don't know what it is, huh?_

_'Yeah. I'm not anxious, but I am. There're less Heartless, but I know there's something else.'_

_Like what?_

_'I don't know.'_

_Well, try getting some sleep. You might not be tired, but other people might be._

Sora sighed and smiled.

_'Don't you wanna sleep under the stars, Roxas?'_

_You do that enough back home._

_'Wait, home on the Islands, or did you do the same in Twilight Town._

_...Both. _

_'Alright, I'll go to sleep.'_

_Good. Good night._

_'Good night.'_

Sora stood up and headed inside the ship, but paused. He smiled to himself and shook his head, then walked inside. He just had an entire converstion with himself, but he didn't feel ashamed: it was hard to explain. He could always talk to Riku and Kairi about..._anything_, but talking to the other side of his heart was truly unusual, yet strangely convinient, almost like a twin brother that wasn't physically available to annoy you.

Sora stretched out in his sleeping bag besides Riku in the cargo room. He continued to lay awake for a few moments, lying on his side and staring at the ship's walls before his eyes suddenly snapped shut, and was fast asleep. A slight smile played on his lips.

* * *

He really reminded him a lot of his younger self, the King mused.

King Mickey sat in the cockpit of the Gummi ship, awaiting the message from Leon. It seemed that sleep was evading him as well. The king had been watching Sora through the wide cockpit windows, but decided not to join the boy tonight. He appeared to be needing time on his own.

Sora reminded Mickey so much of his youth: carefree, always following his heart. The two had also been terrified, scared and confused, when that weapon suddenly appeared in the palm of their hands, in a blinding flash of light.

Yet, Mickey had been raised to keep his light in clear sight, and had been successful in that. He, with the help of Donald and Goofy, had saved their world so many years ago, and it had earned him the life he know had back in Disney Castle.

Sora appeared to have the same fate, but maybe it was slitghly tainted: although Sora, too, kept sight of his light, he had been captured by the darkness once before. Even though light encompassed Sora's heart, it still had that taint of darkness within it, something Mickey's heart never had.

A light beeping noise came from a panel on the Gummi ship's controls, and Mickey peered at it. Promptly reading the message, he wrote down the name of their next destination (after going home first, that is), and shut off the controls.

* * *

I honeslt don't know when the next post will be, hopefully soon, probably not too far.

Reviews are much appreciated!


	5. Chapter Four

Oh my goodness, this chapter just did not want to come out. Nevertheless, here it is. Sorry for lack of updates, but things are beginning to wind down here, so I might find a tad bit more time to continue, yay!

Well, here's chapter four. Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter Four**

Sparks flared as the metal blade clashed with the other blade, and a moment later, Sora fell on his back. Struggling to breathe (the wind had really been knocked out of him), he heard Phil's voice ring out over them.

"And our winner is, Riku!"

Sora heaved himself upward into a sitting position and looked at Riku, who gave his Keyblade a quick spin before dismissing it. Riku was smirking, but nonetheless stepped forward and offered a hand to Sora, who took it, and he heaved himself up.

"Not bad, you almost had me there," Riku said, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"Should've used that 'Thundagagagaga', huh?" Sora grinned. He made his way towards the seating stands in the Colosium, where everyone else had been sitting, watching the two teenagers duel. Sora plopped onto a seat, deciding he would take a break for a bit.

"Wow, your friend here is really strong," Hercules said to Sora, standing up to shake Riku's hand. "He almost won against me a few days ago, but... of course, I won."

"We'll see about that soon enough," Riku said, grinning. Hercules laughed. Sora leaned back and let his head fall backwards, breathing deeply. It had been quite a bit, really, since he'd actually trained to fight with his Keyblade. Back at home, he, Riku and his friends still dueled and challanged one another, but Sora didn't dare use his Keyblade against any of them: he didn't know what he might accidentaly unleash, and he didn't want any of his friends to fear him.

Sora stared at the bright, late-morning sky, and for a moment, watched as huge, puffy clouds lazily meandered by. It was strange, to be so tensed and tired from a friendly battle with the Keyblade, not against endless hordes of Heartless. The Heartless had grown fewer in numbers, meaning he didn't have to use his Keyblade so much anymore, but, it was still there when he summoned it. Would it always be with him? Or would it disappear when it was no longer needed--?

_Um, I'd get up right about now..._

_'Huh? What're you--?'_

"Argh!"

Sora spluttered through the ice-cold water that had been splashed onto his face, and opened his eyes to glare at Riku, who was laughing with the rest and clutching and empty water bottle. Sora growled and threw his completely filled bottle at Riku, who caught it with even more laughter.

"Hey, relax, I was just checking to see whether you were still alive," he said, still chuckling.

"Yeah, well, here I am," Sora muttered, smiling nontheless as he took the towel Hercules offered him, and dried his face. The two remained in the seating stands with Donald as Riku, King Mickey, and Phil walked to the fighting area. Sora placed the towel beside him, then looked around the arena. "You guys did a really good job putting the place back together."

"We did, didn't we? Thank goodness it didn't take too long to fix up Thebes, either. The tournaments in the Underworld haven't been doing so well, either, now that this place is up and running once again," Hercules spoke as he looked around the beautiful arena with pride.

"Where's Meg?" Sora asked, taking notice that he hadn't seen her since he arrived.

"She's in town. She deserves a break, she helped a lot in rebuilding the place," explained Hercules, and to Sora's embrassment, he saw something in Hercules's expression grow soft. Looking away hastily, he stood up.

"Uh... I'll be right back," Sora said, and he hurried towards the lobby. As he walked out onto the sandy entrance, Sora held an arm to his back, which was somewhat sore from his last training battle with Riku.

_How 'bout a potion? It hurts me, too._

_'You read my mind,huh? Literally.'_

_Of course I did. Or did you leave because you're avoiding that touchy subject of 'love'?_

Sora remained quiet inside his mind as he entered left out of the Colosium's entrance gates and walked into the Gummi ship. He pulled out a small potion bottle and drained it, feeling the soreness in his back disappear.

_Ahh, better. Now, why did you leave poor Herc back there?_

_'I don't want to bother him.'_

_You don't want him to ask about Kairi?_

_'He doesn't even know her!'_

_Doesn't mean he knows that someone's on your mind._

_'Will you drop it?'_

_Not until you do something about it._

_'Yeah, well...just drop it...'_

Sora could almost hear Roxas laughing at him, and Sora allowed himself a chuckle: as interesting as these conversations were, he really hoped he didn't start speaking out loud, or those around him would think he'd really lost it this time. He pocketed a few more potions and headed out of the Gummi ship. As he stepped off the ramp, he turned, the swirling entrance of the Underworld catching his eye.

_Oh no. Please, there's nothing down there...can we head back?_

_'I wonder if Auron's still there...'_

_He's fine and dandy, now let's go._

Curiousity getting the best of him, Sora slowly walked towards dark entrance. Roxas, however, not only held the darker side of Sora's heart, but the logical side as well.

_I get the feeling we _really_ shouldn't be here..._

_'You do, but I don't.'_

_Oh very funny, just because you can control where we go..._

_'What're you so worked up about? I've been here before.'_

_You don't have the Olympus Stone. If you get into a fight..._

_'I'll just check out the entrance...I don't exactly want to run into Hades.'_

_Then why're you going? Let's just go!_

Any further attempt to convince Sora to leave would have been wasted, so Roxas contented himself by retreating into the silent deapths of Sora's mind. Sora descended the final steps and looked around. The Underdrome Arena was still standing, although it seemed that the Underworld itself had taken it's toll on it. The five trophy cups Sora had won alongside Donald and Goofy still remained in their respective stands, still untouched by time and the Underworld. Maybe Hades was finally losing it? Maybe he finally started to settle down, to accept his place down here, and hopefully leave Hercules and the world above alone?

Sora smirked when he heard no response from his Nobody.

_'Aw, why're you being so sore, Rox?'_

_Don't call me that._

"Look, I've done my part, now you do yours: release me!"

Sora hastily looked around, and saw Hades himself following a young, curvy woman in a purple dress out of the Underworld's caverns.

_'Meg?'_

_Oh, great, now you've got some explaining to do._

_'Shut up!'_

_It's not like they can hear me--!_

Sora crouched down, hoping the jagged rocks that divided solid rock and the river the dead, Styx, would be tall enough to hide him.

_Let's go!_

_'They'll see me!'_

"Whoa, hey, I did my part already. You see that Colosium up in the Living world? That's my piece of work, and I think I overdid myself a bit. So, I think it's you, missy, who is in debt to me."

"The agreement was to repent for your actions, Hades!" Meg said, walking away from him.

"Which I did. The Colosium is rebuilt: Hercules has his playground back. Now," Hades snapped his fingers and disappeared in a puff of black smoke, reappearing in front of Megara. "If I recall correctly, you were in my employment way before Blunderboy walked into the picture--"

"You tried to kill me! If any harm was to come to me, I'd be off the hook--"

"Oh, you mean me grabbing you and throwing you into the river of the dead to try and get rid of Hercules? So what, he rescued you, and here you are, perfectly swell, good as new. No harm came to you, so you still belong to me."

"Forget it, Hades, I've had enough of your loopholes," Meg attempted to walk around the Lord of the Dead, and hopefully out of his presence until it was her time, but Hades grabbed her arm: Meg winced at the icy coldness of his touch.

"Oh, but you forget one thing, little lady: I'm the Lord of the Dead, which makes me a god, and you, Nutmeg, are mortal. Therefore, I can pretty much decide when your lifeline," Hades whirled his fingers though the air, creating a thin, long trail of smoke in front of Meg's face, " goes 'snip'." Hades broke the thread of smoke with a snip of his fingers, and the smoke dispersed.

Meg stood motionless, and Hades chuckled. He strolled in a circle around the young woman.

"I'd give it a second thought if I were you, Nutmeg."

And with that, Hades disappeared. Meg continued to stand there, looking away from the staircase leading out of the Underworld. Sora hesitated, then, still crouched down, scurried up the stairs as quickly and quietly as he could. Making it back to the Gummi ship without out getting noticed, Sora straightened up and looked back at the entrance to the Underworld.

_Um..._

_'Yeah...'_

_Are you going to tell...uh...anyone?_

_'Should I? I don't even know what exactly they were talking about...'_

_She seemed to be favoring everyone else..._

_'Let's keep it quiet...for now.'_

_You should let the king know, or Riku._

_'We'll see.'_

Sora's mind buzzed with thought (he was sure Roxas was thinking a lot too), but he did his best to place everything aside as he entered the Colosium's lobby. Riku waved out to him, and Sora stepped forward, hoping he could remained focused for the rest of the morning.

* * *

They didn't plan to leave until afternoon the next day, and upon hearing that Sora had never visited the nearby city of Thebes, Phil dismissed the training session sometime after noon and persisted Sora and Riku visit the city. 

So an hour later, Sora and Riku traipsed after Hercules as he lead them towards Thebes, with the same excitement that Sora felt when visiting a new world bubbling inside him. The conversation he had overheard earlier that day, however, was still buzzing through his mind, and Sora had made the decision that he would at least let Riku know: the trouble now was trying to get him on his own, away from Hercules's grand tour of Thebes.

"How could you have never actually been here?" asked the hero.

"I only ever came to this world for training, there wasn't much time to actually come out here."

Thebes was quite the city: very unique, seeing that it was something of an ancient city, one that resembled those Sora has read about in his history textbooks. This city, though, was not crumbling or ancient: it looked well-aged, and was bustling with life and activity. Vendors were out and about selling foods and drinks, shopkeepers beconning shoppers and passerbys to enter their shops, outdoor restaurants with foods that made Sora's stumach grumble with curiousity. Sora immidiately favored Thebes: a metropolis without the hum and buzz of technology, yet it's inhabitants lived very busily and happily.

Well, of course they lived happily: the people of this city had Hercules to save them from any harm.

"Well, I've got to run off," Hercules suddenly said. Sora and Riku looked at him, confused.

"Where to?" Riku asked.

"I promised Meg I'd meet her," answered Hercules, smiling widely. Sora stared at him for another second before offering him a smile, and he hoped he didn't look guiltly surprised.

"Oh, alright. Well, we'll see you at the Colosium later, Herc!" Sora said, waving as Hercules turned and left.

"I still haven't met this Meg," Riku said, looking over an outdoor display of talismans, jewelry and accessories.

"I'm not sure whether you'd want to," Sora muttered, still watching Hercules as he disappeared into the crowd. Riku looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

Sora glanced one more time at the crowd: Hercules was gone. He grabbed Riku's arm and pulled him to a less-crowded spot, not far from the little shop, and told Riku what he had overheard earlier that day.

"So Meg's working with Hades?" Riku frowned.

"It really sounded like it, but I don't see why," Sora said, placing a hand to his chin in thought.

"What're we going to do, then?"

Sora turned to stare at Riku. "We...we can't really do anything. We'd be meddling, wouldn't we?"

"Hold on, we've helped out a lot of the worlds for the last, what, year?"

"Two for me."

"Whatever, but we've still helped. Should we tell Hercules or confront Meg or something?"

"I think the king would be against that," Sora said. "We've helped all those other times because of the Heartless, or the Nobodies."

Riku gazed at Sora in thought, then laughed. "I would've thought you'd jump in to save your friends."

"I don't want anything bad to happen to anyone!" Sora stated. "But unless they ask for our help, we can't interfere. I've heard Donald say that so many times, it never left my mind."

Riku laughed again, then nodded. "You should tell the king, at least."

"Yeah...yeah, I'll do that," Sora sighed, feeling relief.

_Boy, don't I feel better._

Sora turned and smiled. Yeah...but he was still worried about the sake of Meg and Hercules. For the rest of the afternoon, Riku and Sora wandered around Thebes, and although there were many sights that lifted Sora's spirits, the conversation he had witnessed earlier hovered in his mind. The sun was setting as they made their way back to the Gummi ship, and as Sora decided to finally push the thought to the back of his mind, he remembered the incident with Cloud.

King Mickey had said they would return before the end of the summer, before Sora had to return home. Rubbing his eyes, Sora let out a sigh. He hoped things wouldn't get anymore complicated than they already were, and they were only a few weeks into the summer.

They entered the ship, with Riku wandering off into the cargo hold to find them some snack, and Sora flopping onto a seat in the cockpit.

_'Things'll get better. They're not bad, to begin with.'_

_Of course._

_'Do you mean that?'_

_What, you don't trust me? But if you must know, yes, I do._

Sora smiled. Of course things would get better. Not that there was anything bad to begin with... Cloud is strong, he's probably somewhere in Radient Garden, training with Leon, and Meg would be fine: she would never let any harm come to her friends.

Yawning, Sora stretched in his seat before placing his hands behind his head. Tomorrow, they'd be off to Disney Castle, where he'd greet Goofy again. And to be with Kairi again.

* * *

Reviews are much appreciated! 


	6. Chapter Five

**Author's Note:** First off, I'd like to say that writing this chapter meant a lot to me. No, it's nothing so great in the story (although it does get stranger here but that's beside the point right now), but I'd like the readers to know that I am currently going through a very rough time in the world that is known as "real life". Writing out this chapter helped relieve me, for a bit, of what is currently going on.

And no, I won't exactly voice it out loud, what is happening, I'd rather not. Just know that this chapter is an actual milestone for me, and it meant a lot.

Onwards, then with the rest of the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter Five**

They didn't voice it out loud, but Riku, Donald, and King Mickey sat in amusement as they approached the king's world. Sora sat in his seat anxiously, and reminded them all of a small, impatient child. His knees bouncing slightly, Sora kept his eyes locked onto the approaching world.

"If you want to know, Sora: yes, we're almost there," Riku said. Sora merely nodded, his eyes not moving. Mickey chortled.

"How 'bout you boys get your things ready. We'll land soon enough."

Sora and Riku stood up, with Sora casting one last, anxious glance at the approaching world. He then followed Riku to the cargo hold, where they made sure their belongings were packed away. They didn't speak as they gathered their last few items, but after a few minutes, Riku couldn't take it any longer.

"Why don't you just tell her?"

Looking up from his traveling case, an ether in one hand, Sora cast Riku a startled look, which Riku didn't accept: Sora's face had turned a light blush of red.

"Tell who what?" Sora blurted.

Riku couldn't help but laugh. Throwing a jacket into the pile of clothes in his case, he turned to fully face Sora, and crossed his arms.

"Let's see: you've rescued her a fair amount of times--"

"So did you!"

"Wished for nothing else but to see her for a certain period of time--"

"I knew _you_ were okay, I hadn't seen _her_ in _ages_!"

"And hugged her _very_ tightly when you found her again," Riku finished, a smirk playing on his lips.

"She...she hugged me first," Sora muttered, then regreted himself for having spoken at all in the past minute: it sounded as though he was trying to denounce he cared for her at all. He turned away, his face now burning a bright red shade.

_See, you admit it!_

_'Of course!'_

_Then stop trying to deny it!_

_'I'm...I'm not...'_

_Yeah, sure._

"What're you so scared of?" Riku asked. Sora looked up at him; Riku was not jokingly smirking, but casting him a serious look. Sora sighed, shrugged, and threw the ether into his case.

"I'm not scared, I'm just..."

_Admit it. You're scared._

_'Shut up!'_

"Sora," Riku stepped forward, refusing to break eye contact with him. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself. Sora gazed back at him with a strange mixed expression of fear, excitement, and anxiousness, complete with a touch of a bizzare innocence. It was overly obvious that Sora more than cared for Kairi, yet Riku now realized how different this was to him. Sure, both had dealt with a higher point of fear, or happiness, than other people normally deal with, but even love was different for Sora, and even scarier.

Riku sighed and turned away, smiling nevertheless. Sora cast him a confused look, then returned to packing away his belongings, neither speaking. When both of them had closed and sealed their traveling cases, Donald waddled into the cargo room to let them know they were pulling into Disney Castle's Gummi hangar. Sora nodded, then headed back into the cockpit with Riku.

His stomach churned as he saw Disney Castle ahead of them, it's tall towers piercing the clouds. It was a beautiful sight: a world devoid of any harmful darkness, living peacefully and calmly under the rule of a benevolent king and his queen...Sora smiled. He knew Kairi would love this world, and he was sure she was enjoying her stay there.

The Gummi ship smoothly pulled into the hanger, and landed a short moment later. Sora looked through the glass window at the hangar, but there was nobody out there. He then rolled his eyes at himself: what did he expect, a parade welcoming him back from a short trip? Nevertheless, he had hoped that the first thing he saw when he arrived would be Kairi.

The ramp descended, and Sora and Donald quickly walked down it. Mickey chuckled.

"Gosh, Sora sure is lucky that Kairi isn't like Daisy..."

"What do you mean?" Riku asked, arching an eyebrow at the king.

"Sora and Kairi didn't have a date planned before this trip, did they?"

"Not that I know of..." Riku cautiously replied. The king chuckled again.

"Donald'll have wished he didn't leave so soon," he said, and walked off the ship. Slightly confused, Riku followed.

* * *

No, Kairi wasn't in the hangar. As Sora made his way out of the hangar, towards the castle's garden, Sora wondered where she was. He'd only been apart from her for a week, but after the events of the previous year, they had vowed to never be apart again. Selphie had voiced the idea of the two sharing a paopu fruit between themselves, but Sora thoroughly ignored her when she said that: Selphie didn't know what it took to have Kairi's heart locked away inside him for a period of time. 

Sora opened the topiary doors that lead into the garden, and blinked at the warm sunlight spilling about the shurbs and plants. Donald at his side, they both scanned the garden, but it seemed empty. Making his way into the garden, Sora vaguely concluded that Kairi might be in the throne room with the queen, or in the library...

"Alright, NOW!"

Sora whipped around and saw two...five...six... _nine_ huge water balloons fly through the air, and heard a sudden burst of laughter erupt all around the garden. Crying out in surprise, he attempted to run, shielding his face with his arms at the same time, but a half a moment later, felt the impact as the balloons collided with his head, back, legs, and arms, and tumbled to the ground. He heard a qwack of anger not too far from him, and knew Donald had been hit by a water balloon or two as well. Sora stumbled to stand up again.

"Wha-what's going-" Sora tumbled forward again as another water balloon hit him again, this time, squarely in the chest. Wiping the water from his face, he saw more water balloons zooming towards him. Without thinking much, Sora held his hands out in front of them and cast a reflect spell. A semi-invisible dome surrounded him, and he watched as the balloons hit against them, then bounce back towards their throwers. He heard three younger-sounding squeals, a familiar "gwarsh!", and a cry from a girl.

The spell wore off, and Sora pushed his wet bangs out of his face. He saw a girl step out from behind a giant topiary bush of a cow playing the symbols, wiping her own wet hair out of her face, and bursting with laughter, and looked further around to see Huey, Dewey, Louie and Goofy step out from their hiding places around the garden. Crossing his arms, his smirked at Kairi before giving her a mockingly reproachful look.

"This is how you welcome your best friends back? After a long, hard, exhuasting journey..."

Kairi giggled, placing one hand over her mouth, her other hand still behind her. She removed her hand from her face and placed it behind her back as well, and stepped forward, offering him, in turn, an innocent look as she casually drifted towards him.

"Long, hard, exhuasting journey? Why, I didn't know it was so hard on you, oh great weilder of the Keyblade," she said, the mischievious grin betraying her eyes. Sora raised an eyebrow at her, and took a small step back: he just noticed both of her hands were still behind her back.

"What- what are you doing?" he asked, taking another step back as she continued to move towards him. Breaking into a huge grin, Kairi recoiled her arm as she revealed a final water balloon, and aimed it squarely at Sora's face. Ready for her this time, Sora bent forward and ducked, hearing the water balloon fly over him.

"Argh!"

Sora straightened up and turned to see Riku wiping his face, little bits of the popped water balloon clinging onto his vest. Sora burst into laughter and heard Kairi do the same. Riku smirked, and shoved Sora back to the ground as he struggled to get back up. Sora continued to laugh, holding his sides as they began to ache.

"Aw, why're you so sour, Riku? You only got hit by _one_!"

"If you were quick enough, you could've cast Reflect a lot earlier," Riku retorted, and heard everyone else laugh. Sora stuck his tongue out at him and stood back up, still chortling.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi looked around and saw Donald shouting at his three nephews, who only rolled on the floor in uncontrolable laughter.

"You shoulda seen your face, Unca Donald!"

"You were like 'whack!' and then it hit your face!"

"It was the funniest thing ever!"

"Why'd you listen to _them_, Goofy!" Donald shouted at the knight, who had made his way towards the wet group. Goofy chuckled.

"Gwarsh, it was all Kairi's idea, not theirs!"

Sora and Riku turned to stare at Kairi, who clasped her hands to her mouth and burst into another fit of giggles.

"You love us that much, huh?" Riku said. Kairi beamed at him.

"All that fighting and training you both go through, I had to get your minds off it!"

Donald muttered darkly, then cast an Aeroga spell on himself to dry off. Mickey, who had been standing at the hangar's entrance and had been watching the water balloon war from it, stepped forward, and ushered everyone towards castle. Everyone moved forward, Riku looking over his shoulder to see that Sora and Kairi lagged behind purposely. Smirking, Riku looked forward again and followed the king.

Sora ran his hand through his brown spikes, then noticed Kairi running back to her hiding spot behind the topiary shrub. He followed her, hesitantly at first--he didn't know whether she was hiding anymore water balloons, but she emerged with a white, fluffy towel, and held out it to Sora. Sora took it and proceeded to dry his hair and face.

"I never knew the enemy was supposed to help the victim recover," Sora said, grinning.

"Only if the victim survives," she replied. Sora looked at her, then laughed.

"If that's the case, the Heartless owe me tons," Sora shook the last of the water out of his hair, and Kairi smiled: she had always been amazed that Sora's hair always retained those wild spikes, even when wet. He looked down at the towel and let out a chuckle. "Why's everyone attacking me with water lately? First Riku, at the Colosium, then you..."

The two began to walk towards the castle's entrance, still chuckling. Sora tossed the towel around his neck and let it hang there, then opened the huge door that led into the castle's colonade. He mimmicked a doorman, holding the door open for Kairi and dramatically bowing, beckoning her to enter. Kairi giggled and entered, and Sora straightened up and made to enter behind Kairi.

Then, he sharply turned back around to face the garden. Arms tensing, he glanced around the castle walls and shrubs and plants. He could've sworn...out of the corner of his eye... someone... someone had been _watching_ them...

"Sora?"

"Stay there, Kairi," Sora said quietly, and slowly tip-toed back out into the garden, his right hand clenched, prepared to call out the Keyblade if he needed it. But there was nobody about in the garden. No Heartless, no Nobodies...nothing but the trimmed shrubs stared back at him. Narrowing his eyes, he gazed around one last time, before slowly backing up, and finally turning, to head inside the castle.

"What happened?" Kairi asked in a hushed voice, attempting to peek out the door. Sora shook his head.

"I thought someone was out there. I probably imagined it..."

_No, you didn't._

_'Really?'_

_I felt it, too._

Kairi smiled up at him, but not before Sora caught the look of worry on his face. Sora sighed, feeling bad for having worried her, but forgot it all a moment later when he felt her arm touch his shoulder. Trying his best not to sway on the spot, he smiled at her.

"Let's go, they're waiting for us."

"Yeah, let's go," Sora said. She turned away and headed down the colonade towards the library, and Sora glanced out one last time before closing the door.

He didn't catch sight of the figure crouching on the the roof, wearing a tattered dark cloak, nor did he catch sight of him jumping down into the garden, looking at the door through which Sora had disappeared through. After staring at the door a moment longer, the figure swept around, jumping back onto the bushes, onto the wall, over it, and out of sight.

* * *

"No way! Donald knocked you out with a Thunder spell? How did you get him _that_ angry?" 

Sora, Riku, and Kairi, along with an enchanted broom carrying a pair of filled buckets, were left alone in the castle's library, sorting away several of the books that had been left on the floor and the desk. Kairi stood, holding three books in her arms, staring at Riku in amused disbelief as she imagined the tall teenager knocked unconcious by an angry, talking duck.

"Yeah, have Sora cast Thundaga on you and tell me how you feel afterwards," Riku muttered, tearing the books away from Kairi. Sora, who was lazily sitting on top of the desk in the middle of the libary, laughed, and rifled through a few more of the pages in the book he was holding. Riku and Kairi turned to stare at him, and Sora bent his head lower over the book.

The afternoon was coming to a close, and the trio were awaiting to be called out for dinner. They had decided to remain behind in the library, to allow the king and queen some time with themselves, and for the teenagers to spend the rest of the day together. Riku and Kairi, however, were doing much more work than Sora, who had stored a grand total of one book away in the two hours they had been in the library. He had picked up another book, a heavy volume, when Riku began telling Kairi of the matches they had back at the Colosium. While he listened to Riku and Kairi talk, he had casually begun leafing through the book.

_The darkness born from this greed was at first small, as there was plenty of light to conquer it at first. Then, more and more individuals sought out for more light, fearing the darkness would overcome them, and began to fight over the light. The greed grew, making the darkness within their hearts grow, and in time, everyone forgot what they were fighting for. Yet, they continued to fight._

_The Elders grew angry and sad with their people, and ordered them to stop fighting. The Elders advised their people that one could not have more light than the other, for they would blind their own hearts, leading them to forget who they were. The fighting ceased, as the people began to grow weary of the light itself, and hastened to live a balance with the light and their own creation of darkness. The two individuals, though tense they were towards one another, agreed to cease disturbance of one another, although they kept their children far from one another._

_Still, the Elders feared that both elements would one day overcome the other, and feared that the heart of their beautiful world would shatter if the balance was not kept. They decided to lock the heart away, sealing it's entrance through the hearts of the maidens of the purest hearts in the land--_

_'Maidens of the purest hearts'?_

Sora frowned. '_Maiden's of the purest hearts...the Princesses of Heart?' _Glancing up, Sora noticed Riku and Kairi still chortling away at something, with Kairi handing Riku more books than he should be able to carry. He gazed at Kairi for a moment, who was unaware of Sora's eyesight, but instead piling more books into Riku's arms. Sparing a quick, small smile at the princess, he returned to the book, curiousity now getting the better part of his attention.

_--sealing it's entrance through the hearts of the maidens of the purest hearts in the land, and using a magnificant key that only the bravest of men could weild. Calling upon the most crafted, talented workers of metals, the Elder's wandered around their world in search of chasers to carve out the magnificant key._

Heart pounding, Sora stopped momentarily. This story was becoming strange, and as he turned the page, he wondered whether he actually knew what was about to happen.

"Sora, Riku, Kairi, c'mon, dinner's ready!"

Sora jumped and turned to the door where he saw Donald, waving at them to follow him to the dinner hall. Kairi and Riku obliged, having put all the books in their hands away. Sora slowly slid off the desk, folding the corner of the page so he would find his place in the book again. He looked up to see Riku waiting for him, giving him a confused look.

"What?" Sora asked.

"Since when were you so passionate about reading?" Riku asked. Sora shot him a friendly glare, and set the book down on the desk, reading the peeling lettering stamped across the leather: Fables of the Worlds. Sora pondered for a moment, wondering if he could drop off the book in the room he would be staying at while he stayed in the castle, but seeing how Kairi was nowhere in sight, and hearing his stomach grumble menacingly, he left the book where it was, opting to come back for it later. Glancing back at it one more time, he left the room with Riku.

* * *

Dinner, however, was not a quick gulp of food and drink. Reminding himself he was eating with a _king_ (however small he was), Sora realized that his dinners here would be better described as nightly banquets. 

He sat down in between Riku and Kairi, with an empty seat directly across from him. Daisy Duck sat beside Kairi, and Donald sat facing her. Goofy himself sat next the empty seat. Once Sora had taken his seat, Donald's uncle, Scrooge McDuck, waddled into the dining hall, sitting across from Riku, and finally, King Mickey, with Queen Minnie at his arm, walked in, taking their seats at the end of the table.

The servants of enchanted brooms traipsed into the hall, carrying trays upon trays of food instead of their usual buckets of water. Sora grinned as the delicious-smelling platters were set in front of him, and began piling the food onto his plate as soon as everyone else started to. As they ate and talked, Sora stared at the vacant seat across from him, and noticed Goofy anxiously glancing at the door.

"Is that saved for someone?" Sora asked. Goofy turned to look at him and chuckled.

"Gwarsh, yes, but he's running really late..." he said, tapping his chin with his fingers as he looked back at the door. Sora raised an eyebrow.

"'He'?"

His recieved his answer when the doors opened again, and Sora could've sworn he saw another Goofy walk in. He blinked and looked again: this person certainly did look like Goofy, but much...younger. Sora could tell he served King Mickey's court as well, but wondered why he never met him. Then he was plagued by the question as to who this person even was: it looked like he could be Goofy's son. At that thought, Sora suppressed a laugh: if Goofy had a son, he probably would've heard a lot about him by now.

Goofy leapt out of his seat and hurried over to meet his miniature version, who smiled at him akwardly. Mickey smiled widely and waved a hand at him in greeting.

"Hiya Max, welcome back!"

"Max?" Kairi asked kindly.

"Yup, my son!"

Sora gulped a large amount of his drink and began to cough. Goofy really had a son?

"You're a dad?" he asked, ignoring that fact that it was a rather blunt, stupid question.

"Gwarsh Sora, I never mentioned Max to ya?" he said, stepping forward, pulling something out of his pocket. He revealed a very thick wallet, not full of munny, but instead, of several pictures. They tumbled down like a paper accordion, and depicted this person he just introduced as Max in different stages of life, from his babyhood, childhood, and young adult years. Sora stared at the photos, as did Riku, who gave a soft chuckle, and Kairi, who cooed as she pointed at one particular baby photo that showed Max in his diapers.

"_Two years_, Goofy, and you forgot to mention this?" Sora asked.

Max gave his father a rather reproachful look. Sora, who realized he had been asking rather stupid questions, quickly offered Max a smile and held out a hand across the table.

"Well, hi, I'm--"

"You're Sora. Yeah, dad's told me a lot about you," Max said, shaking his hand and taking his seat across the table from the Keyblade Master.

"He has?"

"Yeah. And you're...Riku, right?" he said, indicating to the silver-haired teenager sitting next to Sora.

"Yes, nice to meet you."

"And that's Kairi, Sora's special friend!" Goofy said, waving an arm to acknowledge Kairi. Sora's fork fell from his hand and clattered onto his plate. Riku snorted.

They continued to eat their dinner, with Sora remaining rather silent for several passing moments. Instead, he listened as Max and Riku's conversation.

"I've been training to become another member of the Disney Royal Guards, I've been away since I was twelve," Max explained. From what he was hearing, Sora assumed Max was just slightly older than he was, probably around Riku's age. "They sent me back here to complete my training, with the King's Captain of the Guard." Max nodded his head at Goofy. It made sense that Goofy's son would also follow his footsteps, and become another knight, just like Goofy.

Yet Max lacked something about Goofy. While they obviously looked like father and son, Max resembled a... _less goofy_ version of Goofy himself, which disoriented Sora a bit. And as he watched Goofy throw his son fond glances, it seemed as though Max, on the whole, was trying to avoid any eye contact with his dad, and Sora vaguely wondered why.

"Sora, you awake?"

Sora jumped and stared at Kairi, who had gently pushed his shoulder. He looked around, and noticed everyone standing up and stretching: dinner was over, and everyone was standing up and stretching. Kairi looked at him with a strange concern.

"Are...are you okay Sora?"

"Yeah... why do you ask, Kairi?" he said, standing up and stretching. Kairi continued to gaze at him, but let a smile come across her face, as she patted his shoulder. Again, Sora fought the urge to sway around crazily on the spot.

"You just seemed really spaced out there," she said, as they both left out of the hall.

"Well, it was quite a busy day, wouldn't you say?"

_Yeah, busy. You just sat around the library while they did all the work._

"Busy? You were just sitting around while Riku and I put away the books," Kairi said, smirking and hitting Sora lightly on the shoulder.

_See? Told you._

_'Be quiet!'

* * *

_

Lying on the huge, plushy bed in his room, Sora stared at the ceiling. It really had been an odd day. First, he had been ambushed by a water-balloon brigade. Then he had thought he'd seen a figure in the garden, but that alone was crazy: the castle was protected quite well.

Finding out Goofy had a son had probably been the strangest part of the day. Although Max seemed quite friendly, he slightly resented Goofy for not bringing him up in their time together. Sure, at first it had been quite hectic, with them trying to find their king, and Sora his friends, and constantly being attacked by Heartless, but Sora couldn't find a good excuse to not mention other family members.

Yawning widely, Sora rolled over onto his side, wrapping the blankets around that. It wasn't long before he was sound asleep.

**The wind blew the desert's sands in a light blur, and dried plants tumbled around aimlessly. The cliffs faced the deep, wide valley, as if enclosing a very special secret. Indeed, it was.**

**A silence wandered over the desert, before the soft clanking of metal disrupted it. Atop a high cliff, armored feet approached it's edge, and the tall, burly man looked though his protective helmet down into the valley, clutching the handle of his heavy, metal weapon with a tight grip.**

**The light relfected off the many, many weapons in the valley, very similar to the man's own. They stood as an eerie testament, it seemed, as if it's weilders had left them there, as a mark of where they had once stood themselves. The barren bettlefield stretched out for miles, the weapon's glinting off the hot sun. Yet the desert lacked a certain heat; as if it were empty of any emotions, and could care less of those who crossed it.**

**The man stared down into the valley for a moment longer. He stepped back, his eyes not wandering away from the sight below, and with a sudden leap, ran off the side of the cliff, and plunged down into the valley.**

Sora jerked in his sleep, waking for a moment, and stared ahead at the wall. He realized he was still in his bed at Disney Castle, and though it felt as if he, too, had just plummeted off a cliff. Once he reassured himself that he was not standing in a barren desert, his eyes slid shut, and resummed his slumber.

He was not entirely asleep, though. Roxas remained wide awake inside his mind, the dream replaying in his head. Staying awake for the rest of the night, no further dreams disturbed Sora and Roxas, but there was something that disturbed Roxas about the dream. It had been as though he had just revisited an old memory, but that was impossible. He only shared a few true memories with himself, and the rest with Sora. It was impossible, then, for either to have a memory of a deserted battlefield or an armored knight.

_Wasn't it?

* * *

_

To be continued very soon.

Reviews are much appreciated!


	7. Chapter Six

I am so sorry for the wait (not that many so many of you were actually anticipating this, but to those who were, thanks!). Life has been hectic around here, but I finally got it done, and I will be continuing this!

Well, enjoy!

* * *

The artificial, neon lights brightened the night in the streets of the world of Mid Town. Its tall skyscrapers towered over the streets, and the people crowding them.

Out of a tiny alley walked a young man, his face not bothered being hidden by a cloak. Wearing black boots, loose dark pants, and a long dark coat, he shoved his dark brown bangs out of his face, only for a few strands of hair to fall back over his green eyes. He looked up and down the street, watching the nocturnes cruise along the street.

Moments later, another figure hurried out of the alley. A female, who had taken the time to cloak her face, came to a halt behind the young man, following his gaze around the street. The features of her face were hidden, but two bright, blue eyes glowed from the hooded darkness. She pulled the hood of her short, purple coat further down her face, wrapping her arms around her. She, too, wore boots of similar design to the young man.

"Is he here yet, Javon?" she whispered.

"No, I think I'd feel it," answered the young man, Javon.

"When will he arrive?" she asked in her hushed voice, as if a passerby would become suspicious if they heard their conversation. Javon snorted, and turned to look at the girl.

"Why're you so scared, aqua-head?" he retorted.

"You know I'm no good at...at this. And don't call me that!"

"Fine, whatever, Shen. I wasn't the only one to ever call you that, you know," Javon said, continuing to gaze at the people. He heard no response for a moment, however, and turned to look at her. The girl, Shen, continued to stand with her arms crossed, her head still cloaked, but bent over.

"I know," she said, looking back up at him. He gave her a hardened look, before tearing his gaze away, and back over the crowd. Shen didn't move, but stayed behind him.

"How do we know what he looks like, anyways?" she asked.

"From what I heard, blue eyes. Big feet. And brown hair."

"Like yours?"

"No. Big, spiky hair."

"What was his name again? Lora? Zola...?

"Sora."

* * *

The morning had dawned brightly upon the cheerful Disney Castle, although it had dawned several hours before Sora had woken up. He had hurridly jumped out of bed and dressed in a casual attire of long, brown shorts, a green t-shirt, his trainers, and his short-sleeved black jacket. Not bothering to even attempt taming his hair, he had hurried out of the large bedroom he occupied at Disney Castle, knowing everyone had probably eaten breakfast already.

He strode down the over-sized hallways of the castle, hoping that there'd be something to eat at the kitchens. He wondered where Riku and Kairi were, and decided they were probably wandering the castle, with the possibility of searching for him.

Sora walked into the kitchen, finding several jugs of still-cold juices and milk on the huge, wide counter. A basket of fresh, ripe fruits sat not too far from the drinks, and even farther along, a plump, fresh loaf of bread. Sora easily served himself a few slices of buttered and jellied bread, accompanied with a piece of fruit, and a glass of milk. He sat on the counter of the empty kitchen, taking in the sights of the rather grand room as he ate his breakfast.

Several ovens occupied one entire wall of the kitchen, and opposite of him, another huge counter lined the wall, with a few sinks and basins, a thin door leading into what Sora assumed was a chilled room for foods and drinks that were perishable. A long table was placed in the middle of the kitchen, and opposite the ovens, a huge fireplace. For a moment, he vaguely wondered who worked in the kitchens, then remembered the enchanted, walking brooms he had passed on the way here.

Having finished his breakfast, Sora dropped his empty plate and glass into one of the sinks, and walked out of the kitchen. He headed towards the garden that lead to the Gummi hangar, vaguely wondering whether he might find Kairi or Riku there. He made his way down the colonade, and glanced out into the garden. He looked away, before stopping and doubling back.

For a moment, he though he saw Goofy riding a skateboard all around the garden. Squinting a bit, Sora saw that it wasn't Goofy, but Max. By the looks of it, the kid was very decent on the skateboard. No, not decent. _Really good_ was more like it.

Grinning, Sora hurried his pace and made his way out into the carefully-trimmed garden, and stood at its entrance, watching the knight-in-training perform very impressive tricks, Sora's hands intertwined behind his head.

After a moment, Max noticed Sora, and rolled up to him, grinning a rather self-confident smile that still reminded Sora of Goofy.

"Pretty awesome," Sora commented.

"You betcha," Max replied, kicking up his skateboard and grabbing it. He stared at it for a while, then looked back up at Sora. "It's been a while since I've been able to skateboard, I wasn't allowed at the academy."

"Really? Not on your spare time?"

"No," Max said, flopping down onto the grassy floor, with Sora plopping down next to him. "It's always 'Cadets, to attention!' or 'flank left' or 'flank right' and stuff. Plus, dad didn't let me. He kept telling me all this stuff about 'staying focused on my goals'." Sora noticed the annoyed tone in Max's voice. He stared at the skateboard for a moment, then hopped up, placing it on the floor. Max raised an eyebrow.

"_You_ skateboard?"

_Yeah, I'm better than him._

_'Shut up Roxas!'_

"Yep," Sora said, propelling himself with one foot before placing it back onto the board. Now it was Max's turn to watch and gawk as Sora heelflipped the board.

_Wait, give me this one!_

_'Roxas, hold on!'_

_C'mon Sora! Look, watch!_

_'Wait, Roxas--!'_

"Whoawhoa--ow!"

Sora had leapt into the air, attempting to do an air-walk, and Roxas had wanted Sora to complete a 360 degree turn, with the result being a weird mid-air turn, with Sora's body twisting unnaturally, and losing his balance in midair. Being too close to the ground to control his fall, Sora instead hit the ground, feeling an unpleasant crack somewhere around his left ankle.

"Whoa...ow...ow ow OW!"

"Sora, you alright!"

Clutching his ankle, which was now beginning to throb painfully, Sora looked up and saw Max hurrying over, kneeling down next to him. Sora clenched his teeth and nodded with a forced smile.

"Yeah, just...just a sprain--OW!"

Both Sora and Max winced (with Sora's wince adding more pain to the injury), and Sora felt another wince somewhere in his depths.

_It hurts me too!_

_'Shut up...this was your fault...'_

_Hey, if you'd let me take that one move--!_

_'I'd probably have a broken neck instead.'_

_Oh geez, Sora! Just because I can manouver the thing better than you--!_

_'No you can't!'_

_Well, you were so brilliant right now, with your falling and breaking your leg--!_

_'You caused it--!'_

"Sora, are you sure you're alright?"

Sora blinked and noticed Max peering anxiously into his face. Grumbling under his breath, he nodded, and looked down at his ankle. It was now swollen, pulsing a sickening red hue. He sighed, and clasped his hands around his ankle again.

"Oh, Riku's gonna have a laugh at me, so is Kairi..."

"Can you stand?"

"I don't know...I don't think I should try," Sora said, glancing down again at the injury.

_Yeah, you'd probably break your other ankle at it._

_'Shut up!'_

"Yeah...I'll be right back, I'll go get Dad or someone...don't move, alright!" Max leapt up and hurried out of the garden, leaving Sora sitting there, clutching his ankle, and breathing deeply in attempt to let the pain subside.

Several moments passed, and Sora continued to sit there, refusing to acknowledge the Nobody inside his mind. It seemed, however, that Roxas, too, was attempting to ignore his Other. No passerby would've noticed the tense atmosphere around Sora, mistaking his fuming anger for pain.

After a while, though, Sora grew a bit weary, and wondered where everyone was. He remained alone in the middle of the garden, with the exception of the birds twittering around the topiary bushes, and the Nobody fuming inside him.

_'Roxas?'_

No response.

_'...Rox?'_

Still no response. Odd, Roxas hated being called "Rox". Sora smirked.

_'Roxie?'_

_Don't__ call me that._

_'Hah, got you to talk!'_

And Sora recieved no response for that.

Chuckling, he felt Roxas grow angrier, but just then, Max appeared with Riku, Donald and Mickey trailing behind him. Sora's smile dropped as Riku's eyes landed on him, who, in turn, burst into laughter.

"Told you you were no skateboarder!"

"Shut up...it wasn't my fault."

"Oh really?" Riku taunted, kneeling down and prying Sora's hands off his ankle to look at the injury. Sora winced. "Then who was it?"

"Ro-um... the grass...I can't skateboard well on the grass..."

"Really? I was fine," Max unhelpfully pointed out. Sora sighed again, and felt a chuckle somewhere inside him that did not belong to him.

"It doesn't appear to be broken, just a sprain," Mickey said, having knelt down to examine the injury for himself. Donald nodded, then stepped forward and pointed his feathered hands towards the injury.

"Curaga!"

The pain lifted a split-second later, but Sora felt even worse: why does he always forget he can _cure_?

_Maybe because you're having to use it less and less._

_'Yeah, maybe...wait, you're talking!'_

_You're too funny when you forget things._

_'Oh, thanks a lot, Roxie...'_

_Shut up!_

Sora chuckled, earning him a strange glance from Riku. Smiling up at him, he took the hand Riku offered him, and heaved himself back onto his feet. He gingerly placed his weight on his mended ankle: it didn't hurt. Relaxing, he made his way back towards the castle with his group.

* * *

Riku thoroughly enjoyed taunting Sora's accident over lunch, a story that Kairi particularly enjoyed, with Max reminiscing Sora's majestic fall in the most detail as he possibly could. Sora, however, sat quietly staring at his plate, his face becoming redder by the moment, and endured tauntings from Riku, Kairi, Max, and even Roxas (although nobody heard Roxas's taunts besides Sora, and he definitely did not want to voice those out). It wasn't until King Mickey asked them to meet him in the library after their meal did Sora look up. Gulping down the remainder of his lunch, Sora quickly stood up and left, recieving laughter from the rest.

"Aw, what's wrong, Sora? Too embarassed to admit you really are a clutz?" sneered Riku. Sora turned and shot him a glare.

"Don't push it," was all Sora said, before stomping out.

_'I'm not a clutz!'_

_Yeah, thanks to me._

Sora remained quiet mentally, instead hurrying to the library as fast as he could. He walked in but found nobody there except a lone enchanted broom, carrying a pair of buckets full of water. The broom scurried out of the door Sora had opened, leaving the library now completely empty. Sora walked over to the king's desk and sat down, resting his head on the smooth wooden surface.

He felt slightly tired, and drained, but he wasn't sure why. He'd done nothing more than wake up late, skateboard, then injure himself by far. Nevertheless, he kept his forehead against the cool wooden surface, and closed his eyes a minute later.

_Tired much?_

_'Yeah...'_

_Why?_

_'Don't know...'_

_Get enough sleep?_

_'Dunno...'_

_Sora?_

_...hm...?_

**Two warriors...**

_'Who're...?'_

_Sora?_

**Their weapons clashing...**

_'Are those...?'_

**Sparks flare...**

_Sora...?_

**A third warrior...**

**"NO, stop!"**

**"Step back, Aqua-!"**

**"DON'T call me that!"**

_Sora!_

**Another warrior...**

**"Stand back. You're too weak for this!"**

**"You're not fighting alone!"**

**"I'm not being left behind!"**

**The three looked at their foe. The young man smirked, then charged. The three warriors tensed, then ran into the fight...**

"Sora!"

Sora blinked, and found Riku standing above him, shoving him awake. Raising his head, he found Kairi and King Mickey walking into the library.

"Did I fall asleep?"

"Yeah. Are you okay?" Sora looked up and found a real look of slight concern in his friend's face. Sora grinned up at Riku, and nodded.

"Don't worry. Just sleepy...didn't get enough sleep...Where's Max?" Sora realized, looking at the door as Kairi entered and noticed the young knight was missing.

"He said he had his duties to attend to."

"Oh."

Riku gazed at Sora, who still looked rather dazed and confused.

"Are you sure you're alright, Sora?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Really..." Sora reassured Riku. He gazed a Sora for a moment longer, then turned away. Sora followed Riku, his dream still flowing through his mind.

_'Wait...!'_

**Armored feet...**

_'That armor!'_

**Many weapons in a valley...**

_'They can't be...?'_

**Three warriors...**

_''Aqua'?'_

**..their foe..**

"Come over here!" King Mickey motioned for everyone to gather around him at the desk. Sora stood up from the seat he was sitting on and moved to stand by Kairi and Riku. Donald propped up onto the chair.

"Now, Sora, remember when you and Yuffie stumbled upon Cloud at the castle dungeon in Radiant Garden?"

"You did?" Riku asked, raising an eyebrow at Sora.

"Was he okay?!" Kairi gasped.

"Uh, yeah he was okay, don't worry...it just, sorta slipped my mind, I guess," Sora mumbled, placing a hand behind his head in embarassment. Today was really not his day for his pride or ego.

"Anyways, he's fully recovered, and, welp, we know what world he was on right before he made it to Radiant Garden!"

"Really? Did he say _how_ he made it back to Radiant Garden without a Gummi Ship?"

"Nope, he doesn't even know himself, strangely enough. But he said the last thing he remembers is being in a huge town, one that almost took up the whole world!"

"What world was that?" inquired Riku.

"A place called Mid Town."

* * *

"Alright, you three will head out in one Gummi Ship. Donald, Goofy and I will be on another one. I'll send ya three the coordinates once were in flight, so keep the communicator on."

Sora threw Riku's small totebag into the cockpit of the ship, along with Kairi's small backpack and Sora's own bag. Two basic ships sat in the hangar: the king felt there was no need to take a bigger ship. Therefore, the basic design of the Highwind would do, with its one-roomed cockpit entirely enclosed by a dome of glass. Sora straightened up, and gave the king a grin and a thumbs-up.

"Got it."

"Welp, see ya in Mid Town!"

Sora watched as the king hopped into the second ship, followed by Donald. Goofy turned and waved at the teenagers and the three waved back. Sora then hopped into the middle seat, with Riku settling down on his left, Kairi seating herself on his right. Riku pressed the respected button, and the glass dome sealed itself around the cockpit. Sora flipped the engine on, once again feel the excitement of travel somewhere in the pit of his stomach.

Buckling themselves in, the trio readied their liftoff, and a few moments later, they found themselves floating freely in the vaccums of the Gummi-filled space. Sora turned the communicator on, and heard the static voice of the king comming through.

"The coordinates are being sent over right now," came the voice over the intercom. Riku pressed a series of buttons, before the coordinates appeared and their navigation screen. He pressed a few more buttons, and within moments, the Gummi Ship was in warp speed towards the world.

For several minutes, nobody spoke: it seemed the three teenagers were lost in their thoughts as to what type of world Mid Town was. Sora gazed at the screen, watching the system of other worlds pass by, some he had even visited before. As the minutes flew by, his eyes found the blaring digital letters by a world, and immediately recognized it: Twilight Town. On the screen it showed, just beyond the world...

"Mid Town..."

"Are we there already?" asked Kairi.

"I suppose...it's not that far from Twilight Town."

"Wait," cut in Riku. He took a better look at the navigation screen. Twilight Town was approaching, and sure enough, Mid Town was just beyond it. But a strange haze glowed around the vast, empty space between the two worlds, as if a presence that once was there refused to go away.

"What's that?"

"I dunno Kairi, it's kinda...odd."

The world of Twilight Town passed as the ship zoomed by, and the haze grew thicker. In an instant, it hit Sora exactly what the haze was.

"Riku! You don't think...?"

"Wasn't this where the Organization's world once was?"

"The World That Never Was..."

"Yeah. I thought it'd be gone once Xemnas was defeated."

"Is it safe to pass through?" Kairi asked, looking at the screen, and back out the cockpit window. The haze was rather thick now, a combination of dark, swirling colors.

"I'm sure it is. It was hell to get through into Twilight Town though, but we passed it just fine, right?"

Sora, however, was proven wrong, as they felt their ship give a sudden lurch, and the lights and sirens of the ship started glaring and blaring. Sora grasped the arms of his seat and looked at the navigation screen.

Were they Heartless Gummi ships, or Nobody Gummi ships? No. Sora took a closer look. There was something different about them, yet Sora couldn't quite put his finger on it. The ship rocked again, and Sora clung tightly to his seat so he wouldn't fly out of it.

"Wake up, Sora! Either steer us or attack!"

"Right!"

Sora took up the trigger in front of him, and began firing random shots, hitting the odd flying things that were at them. After several shots, Sora hit one, and he watched it explode into a firey ball. He took a closer look, and saw that it really was a Heartless Gummi. The second enemy he shot down, however, was a Nobody Gummi...

_'What're they __both__ doing here?'_

The ship shook violently, and the trhee yelled as they were nearly thrown from their seats. Over the intercom, they heard the king's high, worried voice yelling through the blaring sirens.

"Come in, Sora! Are ya'll okay?"

"I'm not sure...I didn't know these would still be here!" Sora shouted into the intercom. He squeezed the trigger again, and shot down another flying enemy. But that wasn't a Heartless or Nobody Gummi...why was it slightly transparent?

The ship took another hit, and the sirens blazed even more urgently.

"One of the engines is hit!" Riku shouted over the noise.

"Mid Town is not far. Focus on getting there, not on the enemy!" they heard the king shout. Kairi peered at the navigation screen: Mid Town was approaching quickly.

"Keep firing, I'll get us there!" she shouted, taking over the navigation steers. Sora and Riku continued to fire away, clearing a path so Kairi could get them to safety quicker...

"We're in!" Kairi shouted as the ship tore through the world's atmosphere. Sora let out a short cheer, which was interrupted when their ship continued to rock further.

"They followed us!" Riku shouted.

"W-why?" The two continue to fire away at the enemy.

"Kairi, find us a spot to land, quickly!"

Kairi scanned the landscape of the world, only to realize that Riku's order wasn't going to be easy. Mid Town was an urban city, with tall skyscrapers and buildings. To add in to the trouble, Kairi realized that they were quickly loosing altitude, and within moments, found herself weaving in and out through the tall buildings. Still, the strange enemies followed them, although it was now harder to hit them, as Sora and Riku did not want to hit a building.

"Kairi, quickly!"

"Hold on, I found a place!"

Kairi could make out an area of the large city: a rather deserted place with ruins of many vehicles. It was night time, so she was sure that nobody would really notice if they crash landed there.

Then it happened in an instant. The strange enemy somehow flew ahead, and aimed directly at the glass dome surrounding the cockpit. Sora and Riku stared at it, before Riku came to his senses quicker. Dropping the triggers, he stood up and summoned his weapon.

"Hold on!"

Sora stared at him, then looked back at the enemy, who was now shooting directly at the glass. He too stood up and summoned the Kingdom Key, and in unison, they both cast the Reflect spell just in time.

The enemy's hits hit the glass, shattering the dome completely. The strength of two Reflegas kept the glass from harming anyone, but they were now exposed to the high wind whipping at them, due to the speed they were flying at. When the spell died down, Sora and Riku quickly clung to their seat, hoping for a quick landing, now.

"We're almost there, just hold on!" Kairi shouted, trying to push the hunk of what used to be a Gummi Ship to move quicker, to give it's final push.

Their ship rocked violently, causing the three to scream. Kairi steeply steered the ship in order to avoid crashing into a looming build: just behind it was the wrecked street she had spotted earlier. Her steering, combined with the rocking of the ship as it was continued to be hit, cost Sora dearly.

Sora grasped his fingers at his seat, but felt them slip away. Before he realized it, he was flying backwards, not hitting the glass dome that should have been there, but instead flying directly out of the ship itself.

"Sora!" Riku swiped at him, attempting to grab his arm. For a moment, their fingers brushed and grasped against one another, but the wind was against Sora tonight. He fell away, towards the dark streets far below him.

"Sora!" Kairi and Riku both yelled out, and Kairi made to steer the ship around, but Riku stopped her.

"What are you doing?!" she shrieked at him, jerking her hands away from his.

"The ship isn't holding out much longer, land quickly or we'll crash into the buildings!"

"But Sora--!"

"He'll...he'll be fine, just go!" Riku shouted, clinging on to his seat.

Below them, Sora yelled as he plummeted towards the ground. In a panic, he threw himself forward and attempted to control his fall, but those strange flying things followed him, and continued to attack at him. He twirled his Keyblade and attempted to block their attacks, but found it was rather difficult to do so and to control his fall. In a desperate attempt, he dismissed his Keyblade and lurched forward, trying to break into a glide. It worked for the most part, but he was still in shock and was still plummeting towards the ground a bit too fast for his taste.

He flew forward into a mid-air somersault and gained more control of his fall, but the with the ground nearing and those strange ghostly things attacking him, he had no more hope of landing on his own two feet. He summoned his Keyblade once again and took a desperate swipe at the attackers before landing, painfully and face-down, on the hard concrete floor of the large city.

Sora simply lay there, still conscious but refusing to move as pain surged through his body.

He heard footsteps approach.

_Get up!_

_'I can't...'_

He felt someone kneel beside him, and a moment later, Sora felt himself being turned onto his back. He wearily looked up at a hooded figure, and for a drowsy, painful moment he was reminded of the hooded figures that made up Organization XIII.

"Who're--?"

Smaller, quicker footsteps approached, and Sora pushed himself up into a sitting position. He sat in a dark, long alley between two enourmous buildings, and approaching them were...

"Heartless..."

Sora leapt up and grasped his Keyblade, which was still in his hand after the fall. He saw the figure beside him pull out something of a staff...sor another drowsy moment he thought it was another Keyblade: there was a chain off the end of the weapon. It was just a staff, however, and the figure hurried to his side, weilding it, prepared to fight. Through the light that made it's way into the alley, Sora saw that the figure was a girl. He had no time to ask who she was, as the number of Shadow Heartless leapt up at them. Sora cut his Keyblade through the air, ignoring the pain that pulsed through his arms and legs and chest and head.

The two fought the hordes of Heartless creeping into the ally, with Sora comming closer to collapsing with every swipe he took. The girl was not a bad fighter, either, although her weapon of choice was blunt and weak: Sora could dispel of the Heartless with a swipe or two, wheras she had to practically whack at them before they dispersed into black smoke. Nevertheless she was a great help: Sora would have collapsed long ago.

Several moments later, the last Shadow was attacked by the silver blade of the Kingdom Key, and all was quiet in the alley. Sora swayed dangerously on his feet as he looked over to the female figure, who looked over at him. She gave her a weak grin and he felt himself falling towards the ground for the second time that night.

"Thanks..."

He saw the girl rush towards him, and in the last blurry moment before his vision gave out, he saw the hood fly off. His eyes slid shut as he felt his fall being broke by the girl's arms catching him and lowering him onto the ground. He vaguely mused the image of the girls face, which he didn't quite catch. He did, however, get a glimpse of the girl's strange, short shock of blue hair.

_'How odd...blue hair...'_

And he gave into the sweet bliss of passing out.

* * *

To be continued very soon...

Reviews are much appreciated!


	8. Chapter Seven

Yay, this came out quicker than I thought! Here ya go, you rabid fans!! -cricket cricket- um...moving on...

I have a lot of author's notes, but what the hell, I'll save them for the end.

For now, enjoy!

**And one by one, they were hit and injured. One by one, they fell.**

**How powerful could one individual be?**

**"Aqua!"**

**"D-don't call me that..."**

**"Are you okay?!"**

**"Just g-go...!"**

**"NO!"**

**The larger figure pulled the smaller man away, just before getting hit by a ferocious cast of Thundaga. The younger man struggled, trying to break away, but the black-and-red helmeted enemy approached quickly, raising his weapon and ready to lash viciously.**

**Apperantly, one individual could grow to be ****very**

* * *

"Some help would've been appreciated."

"You seem to have managed on your own, though, aqua-head,"

The blue-haired girl turned swiftly, nearly dropping Sora, whom she had dragged to her the small room in an abandoned building that she occupied, along with her other companion. She glared at the dark-haired young man, then resumed her job of finding a comfortable place to lay Sora down.

"I told you not to call me that, already."

"Okay fine, Shen-Shen."

"Not that either, Javon."

"Fine! Why do you hate nicknames?"

Shen lifted Sora's arm, which she had placed over her shoulders, and she slowly lowered the unconcious boy down on a small, low bed in the corner of the room. Once he was safely deposited, Shen turned and faced Javon, who was leaning casually against the wall, observing the boy who was slumbering away on the bed.

"I was hoping he'd be concious when we met," he stated.

"He fell out of a moving ship! Needless to say that _that _was unexpected..."

The girl plopped down besides the low bed, glancing at Sora again.

"He seems to be our age."

"I know."

"Why...why did they continue to attack him? Or his ship?"

"Probably because they sensed his power."

"Is he _that_ strong?" she asked in wonder.

"Why do you ask so many things?" Javon said, pushing himself off the wall and moving across the room to the window. He leaned against it and looked out into the street below. The girl looked at him, and then back to Sora.

The sleeping boy appeared to have a friendly face, and judging by his actions earlier, he was probably very strong. Not many people would survive such a fall, let alone get up to fight before finally collapsing. Shen had been walking through the thinning street, before she heard a commotion up above her. Wide-eyed, she had witnessed a damage ship attempting to shake off it's attackers, then saw a figure flying out.

She also heard screaming, screaming that did not belong to Sora.

"Don't you think his friends would be searching for him?" she asked.

"They probably think he's dead," Javon bluntly answered. Shen winced slightly at the casual tone in his voice, but he didn't see her.

"If they're his friends, I'm sure they'd know that he'd survive," Shen said, quietly.

She had recognized him. Big feet. Huge, brown, spiky hair. And blue eyes. Only they were tired, worried, and pained.

Shen heard rustling behind her, and looked up to find Javon staring down at her. She kept herself from recoiling, but looked up at him. He merely continued to look at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Did you see where the ship landed, or crashed?"

* * *

The street that was normally reserved for fighting among enemies in the streets, or for any other unpleasant activities to take place, was currently quiet and abandoned, it being so early in the night.

The quiet, however, was disturbed by the rushing found of a vessel pushing itself to it's final surge of power. A moment later, the thudding sound of the strange Gummi substance crashing against metal and concrete filled the street. Smoke sizzled from the ships now-dead engines, and the street remained motionless for a moment longer.

Kairi did not loosen her grip on the steering handle, but continued to grip it tightly. Her eyes, too, remained tightly shut. Riku, however, let go of his seat with relief, and let out a shakey laugh. He looked over at Kairi and stopped in mid-laughter, now overcome with slight worry. Was she injured?

"Kairi?" he slowly reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. She pulled away from his touch, her eyes still shut, her hands still gripping. Riku recoiled his hand, and leaned towards her. "Kairi, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

She suddenly looked up at him, her eyes burning with tears and fury. Riku did his best not to wince.

"What's wrong?" he asked, very alarmed.

"Sora better be okay!" she screeched, tears now falling.

"He-he will be Kairi, trust me..."

"_That was probably a fall of 1000 feet!_Why wouldn't you let me go back and get him?! H-he's probably lying somewhere, u-unable to m-move...i-injured..." Kairi broke into sobs, and Riku attempted to place his hand on her shoulder again, in an insecure way to comfort her.

Kairi, however, suddenly stood up. Her hand quickly found the "emergency seat ejection" button just above the steering wheel. A split second later, RIku found himself, still in his seat, flying through the air. Before he had time to even yell in shock, he found himself face-down on the wrecked, asphalt street. He jumped up, pushing the seat off of himself, and rubbed his cheek. He looked up and glared angrily at Kairi, who glared right back at him.

"What the hell was that for?!" he asked

"My hand slipped," she claimed dangerously.

"Oh, you little--" Riku stopped himself, and growled angrily. He ran his hand through his long hair, then looked back up at Kairi."Listen...just, see what else works on the ship. Try to see if the intercom still works, we need to get a hold of the others."

For a moment he though she might refuse, but she glowered down at him for another moment before turning her attention to the buttons and switches in the cockpit. Riku walked over to the hunk of what used to be a ship, and climbed back into the cockpit. For a moment, the two worked quietly, turning switches and pushing buttons, but the ship seemed to have refused to help its travelers any further.

"Nothing?"

"No," Kairi answered quietly. She sighed and leaned against the control board, her head down. Riku looked at her, and ran his fingers through his hair again.

"Listen, Kairi...uh, I'm sorry, sorry about, uh, back there..."

Kairi then burst into renewed sobs and rushed to Riku, who was taken back by surprise. Unsure of himself, he patted the top of her head, but Kairi simply continued to cry softly into his shoulder.

"H-he's okay, right? We'll f-find him, w-we'll find him a-alright, right?" she asked.

Riku relaxed a bit, and hugged her briefly before releasing her. He looked at her, and gave her a sad smile.

"You know Sora. He lives through anything. Come on, let's go find him.

* * *

**"W-we can't...he's too strong..."**

**Such strength...how was it possible?**

**"You cannot give up, it is our duty--"**

**"Screw our duty, we won't make it out of here alive!"**

**"Even if we are killed--"**

**"No! I can't be like this, it just can't...Aqua is back there..."**

**"We have to keep going."**

**"I don't want to!"**

**Ah, the ignorance of youth. A weakness in itself.**

**The tall armored man stepped past the younger man, who seethed at him from beneath his dented helmet.**

**"Stay behind if you wish. It would only be a matter of time before you get killed, anyways.**

**The young man growled in anger, and for a moment, considered going back...going back to those days of laughter, and joy, and his friends, and pure happiness...**

**But were those days really still there? **

* * *

Shen had cast a number of curing spells on Sora, just to ansure that he was not physically injured any more: she had suspected a broken arm. His arm, however, now seemed healed, but he slept on, so she was unable to tell whether it had properly healed or not. He didn't appear to be in pain, although she suspected strange dreams as she watched his eyelids flutter a bit. Yet he did not wake up.

Maybe if his friends came he'd stir, or better yet, awaken? Javon had gone out looking for them, and she couldn't help but wonder whether they themselves were okay. She wondered vaguely whether he had a sweetheart: she had heard a terrified scream when she saw Sora's figure soaring through the air. A scream she was sure belonged to somebody who cared greatly for Sora. Who loved him.

The blue-haired girl sighed, then stood back up, heading towards the tiny kitchen room to see if there was anything she could scrape up.

* * *

"Just stay next to me, and don't take that off."

"I know!"

Riku quickly walked through a street just around the corner from their crash landing and stumbled onto a street with shady-looking people lounging around. Kairi followed just behind him, annoyingly tugging at the long, dark blue coat she was wearing. Riku had forced Kairi to wear a long coat, one that he had in his bags. It hung loosely on her, considering her small, skinny frame against his tall, built figure. He wanted to ensure that she wouldn't be stared at too much, since the stubborn red-head refused to change out of her favored skirts, dresses and shorts that usually made boys other than him and Sora blush.

"And be ready in case anything happens."

"I know."

The two quickly made their way down the street. Mid Town was rather different from it's nearby worlds: Traverse Town, which was rather friendly to its visiters, not to mention welcoming. Twilight Town kept to itself for the most part, but was still warm towards it's visitors. Mid Town carried the aura of still welcoming it's visitors: fugitives and runaways, or anybody who didn't wish to be found. At least it seemed like an easy world to blend in with, if you knew the correct skills of hiding.

The two continued down the dark street, then turned a corner, which led to another very empty street. Too empty, for Riku's taste.

"Keep an eye out."

"I told you already, I know--"

"No...something isn't right..."

Riku held his right arm out, ensuring Kairi would go further. He paused for a moment, then opened his palm. Kairi watched as the Way to Dawn Keyblade apparated in his hand. He closed his fingers around the weapon's black-and-red handle, and kept it at the ready. Something was near, something that wasn't welcome near him or Kairi.

Kairi looked around nervously, wrapping the overgrown coat tighter around her. She felt it, too, and felt a wave of panic. Had something bad happened to Sora, other than his fall?

_'No..'_

She shook her head, then closed her eyes. Of course not. Nothing had happened to Sora. He was fine. Perfectly fine, and they'd find him. Really soon. _'Right?!'_

_Of course, Kairi. Be careful, though!_

Her eyes opened widely, and she looked behind her, as if she new it was there.

A Heartless.

No, not one. Several.

She turned to face the approaching Heartless completely, and outstretched her own palm. She smirked lightly as she gripped the golden handle of Princess Guard, her rarely-used, but nontheless beloved, Keyblade.

"We have a problem back here," she said. Kairi heard Riku smirk, and turned to face him. Over his shoulder, she saw another several Heartless approaching him. She kept her stand, back to back with him. Out of the corner of his eye, Riku caught a glimpse of Kairi's Keyblade, and couldn't help but smirk.

"Can you fight, Princess?"

Kairi stiffened in annoyance: she was rarely called "princess". It served as a pet name from Sora and Riku to irritate her on special occasions.

"What makes you think I can't?" she hissed, taking her fighting stance: her feet were planted shoulder-width apart, and she held her Keyblade in front of her like a swordsman would weild his sword. Riku moved his gaze back to the enemies approaching.

"Princesses aren't usually seen on the battle front."

"Well, this is a rare sight, isn't it then?"

"It certainly is. Princess."

Riku allowed himself a laugh as he heard Kairi shout in annoyance, tearing ahead towards the Heartless jumping out at her. Sora and Riku had been unable to snap Kairi into a "fighting mode", as Sora put it. Not until they taunted "the Princess", which Kairi found irritating. He swiftly swung his Keyblade and tore it through several Shadows, which nawed hungrily at his feet. Kairi hacked at the Heartless, still not as proficient as Riku or Sora, but nonetheless a better fighter than when Riku had given her the elaborate Keyblade. A weapon suited for a princess.

The two fought, but a Heartless would replace another fallen Heartless.

"Where did they come from?!" Kairi huffed, leaping up into the air to avoid the sharp little claws of the Shadows Heartless. In mid-air she twisted, spinning her Keyblade around her, and slicing at the Heartless that had dared to jump aftter her. She landed by cleaning slashing another Heartless on the floor. Sora had certainly taught her a fair few tricks.

"They're not going to go away easily," Riku muttered to himself, and searched for a way out. The two were surrounded by a thick sea of black little creatures, with tall buildings lining the street for several meters. He might have the capability to leap high enough into the broken window of a building, but Kairi still had trouble leaping onto the wooden shack on their Island...

_"Thundaga!"_

The two stared at one another wide-eyed. Neither one of them had called out the spell. They hastily looked around as they watched several bolts of lighting zap at the Heartless. Kairi gazed around, and spotted the caster: a black-clad figure standing at the top of one of the buildings lining the street. She stared up at him, and she felt as though the stranger, too, was gazing down at her from within the shadow of the hood. A shiver ran down her back.

_'Who is that?' _

"Kairi!"

Kairi turned and saw several Heartless in mid-air, leaping towards her. Eyes widened in shock, she shuffled backwards, but not before Riku shoved her aside and took a massive swipe at the Heartless. Kairi stood up, feeling stupid for not paying attention to her enemies. She looked around, to find all the Heartless now gone.

"Sorry... I was... are you alright?" she said. Riku nodded and made to scold her, but then they heard the whip of a coat, and the figure now stood beside them. Riku stepped protectively in front of Kairi, and pointed his Keyblade at the figure. The figure didn't flinch, but merely stopped in his tracks.

"Who are you?" Riku inquired.

For a moment, the figure continued to gaze at them, not moving. The the figure reached up and pulled his hood down.

"Are you Sora's companions?" he asked in a calm voice.

Kairi gasped and stepped out from behind Riku before he could stop her. She looked at the young man: he was a boy, with brown hair long enough to hang in front of his green eyes, and he appeared to be her age. He had a quiet gaze that continued to sweep over her, and another chill ran down her spine. Nevertheless, he appeared to know where Sora was.

"Do you where he is?" she asked, not caring whether he noticed the desperate tone in her voice.

The young man nodded, and offered her a small smile.

"He'll be alright. I can take you to him if you like-"

"Who are you?" Riku asked again, this time more forcefully. The young man turned his attention to Riku.

"My name isn't necessary. I know where Sora is, and I can take you to him."

"Yes, where is he-?" Kairi began, but Riku interrupted

"If you don't want us to know who you are, then you are hiding something from us, aren't you?"

"I'm hiding nothing. If you really must know," the man paused, then continued,"you can refer to me as Javon."

"Refer? Does that mean that that is not your real name?"

"It is what I answer to, which is what a name is in general."

"Please!" Kairi cut in: Riku was glaring at the young man, Javon. The two turned to look at her, and both softened their gaze slightly as they noticed the tears beginning to swell up in Kairi's eyes. She blinked, though she didn't let them fall. "Just take us to Sora. That'll be enough to gain our trust."

"Kairi, for all you know, he could've found Sora, and mugged him and ki-"

"Oh shut up Riku!" Kairi shouted, surprising them all including herself. Riku blinked and stared down at Kairi, who now glared at him. "He knows where Sora is, and he isn't misleading us. I don't know what your idea of 'trust' is, but I can feel it in my heart that he isn't lying to us!"

Riku simply continued to gaze at her, before turning back to Javon.

"Give me one good reason to trust you."

Kairi growled in frusteration, but Javon held his right palm out in front of him. To Riku and Kairi's complete and utter shock, the hilt of a red and black Keyblade appeared in in Javon's open hand. Kairi gazed at the weapon with wide eyes, her mouth slightly open in shock: a weapon that evoked the image of two spoked circles...

"You might want to watch your back," Javon said. Riku and Kairi broke out of their shock and turned to see more Shadow Heartless emerge from the ground and crawl towards them. The two raised their weapons and prepared to fight, when Javon spoke again.

"It's useless. If you want to make it out of here alive, you'll have to place trust in me and follow me," he said. Kairi looked at Riku, who braced his jaw and nodded curtly. She sighed in relief, then turned to find Javon, who was now standing on her other side.

"What do we do?"

"Just run ahead. Cut them out of your way. Make it to the end of the street, then turn left. Just keep running until you find another street on your right side, and go there. Do not stop, just keep running. Once you're in that last street, you'll be safe from the Heartless." Javon raised his weapon, and the three eyed the nearing Heartless. "Just make it out alive."

Kairi stiffened, but gripped her weapon tightly. Riku didn't show any signs of having even payed any attention to Javon, but held his weapon at the ready nontheless.

"GO!"

The three teenage Keyblade weilders charged ahead, all spinning and swinging their keyblades as quickly, as rapidly, as fiercely as possible. On and on they ran, not caring if the Heartless scratched and knawed at their feet or ankles or legs.

Javon fought with upmost ease: it was obvious he had experience with that weapon. Riku outputed his fuming frusteration into forcing the Heartless out of the way. Kairi, however, merely thought of Sora, and she fiercely attacked at the Heartless, removing them out of her path.

They reached the end of the street, and sharply turned left onto a wider, but still empty, street. The worst of the Heartless were left behind, but there were still several on this street, and the leaped out at them as they ran past. A swift swipe of the Keyblade was all it took to make them disperse into balck smoke.

Kairi sought out the street of destination and located it: it was only a couple of meters ahead of them. She sped her pace up, rushing ahead of the other two.

"Kairi, no, wait-!"

A Heartless, which had been standing on a crate on the cracked sidewalk, jumped and swiped at her arm. Kairi cried out and swept around, clutching the deep little scratches on her upper arm with her left hand, her Keyblade still clutched in her right hand. She turned swiftly and stumbled backwards away from the Heartless, who was rapidly crawling toward her.

Riku growled and tore ahead, grabbing Kairi by the arm and pulling her ahead. Javon simply swiped his weapon and cleared the Heartless away.

At last, they reached the little street, which they saw was sparsely populated. The came to a halt, and Kairi released herself from Riku's grasp. She leaned against a wall and panted, now feeling the effects of the run. She dismissed her Princess Guard Keyblade and looked at the small wound that had tore through the sleeve of Riku's coat: a rather nasty purple hue surrounded the three little cuts she recieved from the Heartless. She sighed, and clutched at the stinging injury.

Riku, who had also been leaning against a wall, moved forward, and beckoned Kairi over.

"Let me see it."

"I'm fine."

"Just let me see it..."

"I'm _fine_ I tell you."

"Don't be stubborn, Princess--"

"DON'T call me that!"

Javon let out a laugh, and both Riku and Kairi stared at him.

"I'm sorry, but you remind me of someone," he said, taking his turn to lean against the wall. He casually dismissed his weapon and placed his hands in the pockets of his coat. Riku sighed deeply, then turned away from Kairi towards Javon.

"Well, we followed you here. Now where is Sora?"

"Relax, we're just catching our breaths here," Javon said, making Riku grow even more frusterated. Kairi giggled softly, and Javon smirked. "Follow me, he's in our...our home, I suppose."

"You suppose? What, do you move often?" Riku inquired, as he moved off the wall and followed Javon down the narrow street. The entrance to several shady shops lined the street, and several huddled people mosied and lounged near the shops. He pulled Kairi closer to him, who grumbled but obliged.

"No, it's just... never mind. Through here." Javon turned and shoved open a door to a huge building and held it open for the too. Riku kept his stand, looking into the dark room beyong the door. He looked at Javon with a raised eyebrow.

"And you expect us to simply follow you into this derelict room, no problem whatsoever?"

Javon smirked again, and looked at Kairi, though she, too, held back from entering the room. He stepped forward and met her gaze. Kairi stared into the green eyes of the stranger: the way his brown hair hung over his eyes reminded her so fiercely of Sora. It was eerie, though, to have green eyes stare back through brown bangs, not blue ones. Javon held his hand out towards Kairi, who simply looked at it. Riku pulled Kairi backwards a step.

"I'll take you to Sora. I promise. Kairi."

Once more, Kairi felt a chill run down her back, and she looked back up at Javon's face. He was her only hope to find Sora again. And whether or not he lead them to their destination or murdered them on the spot, Kairi was willing to take that chance, if that was what it took to be with Sora again.

Hesitently, she held out her hand and placed it in Javon's palm. Riku stifled a protest, and sighed. He then followed Javon and the Princess into the dark room, and closed the door behind him.

* * *

**On and on, the armored men ran. Their masked foe was far ahead of them, throwing back any obstacle at the armored ones.**

**They dodged, and ran. **

**They ****had**** to keep going, they just had to...**

_...Sora..._

_'Wha...what's happening...'_

**No turning back...they had to keep going...**

**He**** had to keep going...**

**Ven had to keep going...Aqua was back there...he had to fight for her...**

_Sora...!_

_'Ven...?'_

_Sora!_

Sora's blue eyes opened widely. For a moment, he continued to lay on the soft bed, staring at the cieling. It was a few moments before his memory trickled in...

The fall from the Gummi Ship...the strange attackers...the painful landing...

And the good samaritan: the blue-haired girl.

Sora sat up and winced as he felt a sharp pain in his right arm. He clenched his hand and felt a dull surge of pain shoot through his arm. Clutching his arm, he looked around his surroundings, and began to feel uneasy as he realized he had no idea where he was. Were Kairi and Riku okay?

_I think they're fine._

_'I hope so.'_

_Are you okay?_

_'I think so...my arm hurts though. Where am I?'_

Sora heard a noise from another part of the room, and swiftly turned in the bed to face it, his hand at the ready to call his Kingdom Key. His arm, however, had other ideas, and a pain shot through it. Sora gasped and clutched his arm tightly, then saw a figure walk in from the other room. The figure halted promptly when she noticed Sora, and both didn't move for a moment.

He squinted through the dark room, and caught the hint of blue hair. So, this was the good samaritan.

"H-hi..."

She didn't speak, but stepped forward. Sora scooted farther back on the low bed, although he wasn't quite sure why. She knelt down by the bed and held her hand out.

"Does your arm hurt?"

Sora gaped, then hesitantly held his arm out to her. She took it, and turned it; Sora winced from the pain. He sighed, then chuckled as he watched the stranger examine is arm.

"Today was not my day...first my ankle, and now this..."

The girl remained silent, and Sora let his chuckle die down. He looked around the room again.

"Where am I?"

"Mid Town."

"Mid Town? Is this what this world is called--OW!"

The girl flinched and loosened her grip on his arm, her eyes wide in terror.

"Did that hurt?"

"Just a little," Sora said, laughing shakily.

"I can't do much more, you'll have to wait for Javon."

"Who's that?"

"My...my brother," she said, although she sounded rather unsure of herself.

"Where's he at?" he asked, grasping his own arm now.

"Searching...for your friends, Sora."

Sora's head snapped up to look at her, his eyes wide.

"Do you know where they are? And, and...how did you know they were out there..." Sora's eyebrows creased in confusion as he looked at her. "And how did you know my name? I didn't tell you..."

The girl remained quiet, although she quietly gazed at him.

"Who are you?" Sora asked, just a bit creeped out now.

"I've heard a lot about you. Your bravery has been spoken of here in Mid Town."

"_Who _are you?"

"My name is Shen."

"And...why am I here? Why did you help me?"

The girl, Shen, looked him directly in the eyes, and a chill flashed it's way down Sora's spine. He backed up, still sitting on the bed, and clutched his injured arm, although he was ready to defend himself at any moment.

"We've been waiting for you, Sora."

* * *

_Creeeeeepy_, I wonder what happens next?! Oh wait, I'm writing this, heheh...

Anywho I guess my original characters are so much "original" anymore, but I will claim originality to a point. It's rather obvious who the girl is, and you can tell I'm watching the FM+ secret video a lot. BUT, I came up with names for these characters before that video came out, and I liked the names a lot, so I shall keep them.

Also, thanks for the reviews I've recieved! They make me smile and want to write more, so again, thanks!

Have no idea when the next chapter will be up. Hopefully soon. Yay.

Reviews are very much appreciated!


	9. Chapter Eight

I'm SO sorry for the wait. Not that many care, but here you go nonetheless ::dies::

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

"Any sign of 'em?"

"Nope."

"Gwarsh, I hope they're alright..."

"We have to find them," King Mickey said, punching different buttons in the ship's cockpit, trying to obtain some sort of signal from the other ship. After several minutes, however, they received nothing. The miniature King sighed, the sad frown on the mouse very foreign to his usual features. Donald, both out of anxiety and frustration, suddenly pounded the control panel, causing Mickey and Goofy to jump.

"Why'd they have to attack them only? They didn't even notice us..."

"What d'ya think those were?" Goofy thought out loud, placing a finger on his chin in thought. The three sat there, pondering those strange creatures. They reminded Goofy of Nobodies, yet they seemed surreal, almost as if they weren't actually there. How odd...

"What're we still sitting around here for?" Donald suddenly piped up, leaping out of his seat. Mickey and Goofy turned to stare at him, and Donald glared right back at them.

"I know those three are alright, so they're fine where ever they are! We just have to find them now!"

"Gwarsh, you're right. Ya know how much Sora scares us, he gets hurt all the time but he's always fine!" Goofy said, sitting up in his seat, and joining Donald in gearing up devices to aid in their search.

King Mickey watched his two friends, smiling. He was glad to have the company of such positive friends: little did they know, he was prone to bouts of sadness as well. Smiling, though not forcibly this time, he joined Donald and Goofy.

* * *

Sora blinked, both very curious as to _why_ he was expected, and very scared as to wondering _who_ was talking about him in this world he had never been to. Shen continued to look at him, simply sitting on the floor besides the bed. 

"I, uh...who-?"

"You really are strong, Sora. I saw your fall, and I watched you fight."

"Uh, thanks, I guess, but, who-OW!"

In an attempt to get out of bed, Sora had placed weight on his injured arm, which he recoiled in pain. Shen lightly pushed Sora back onto the bed.

"You should stay there, until Javon comes back. His magic is stronger, he'll heal you." At that, Shen stood up and walked out of the small room, leaving Sora lying there, utterly confused.

_Something about her seems familiar._

_'Really? To be honest she's kinda creeping me out.'_

_Same here. But...I don't know..._

Footsteps approached outside the door, and Sora immediately sat up, ignoring the shooting pain in his arm. He heard muffled voices from behind the door, and tensed, ready to summon his Keyblade even if it hurt his arm immensely.

"How do we know you're not tricking us?"

"I thought you'd said you'd trust me for now."

"You lead us through an unholy amount of stair steps, how do we know you don't want to take us to the top of a building and throw us over--"

"Just shut up! He said he knows where Sora is, so just let him!"

Sora's eyes widened. Somebody else was looking for him too? He slowly stood up and walked to the middle of the room, prepared to defend himself if anybody tried to barge into the room and attempt to take him by force.

The door opened, and to Sora's surprise and relief, he saw Kairi and Riku slowly walk in, a brown-haired stranger following behind. He straightened up, and the three friends stared at one another for a full three seconds before Kairi ran forward, attaching herself to Sora in a tight hug.

"Sora! You're here, you're really here! Are you okay? How hurt are you?"

"Ah, Kairi, wait--OW!"

Kairi jumped backwards and watched as Sora clutched his arm while grinning sheepishly.

"I hurt it, and Shen can't heal it properly."

"Shen--?" Riku began, but he was cut off as Javon stepped forward.

"Of course she couldn't..." the brown-haired stranger muttered. He tightly grasped Sora right arm, causing him to gasp in pain. Riku began to step forward, but not before Javon uttered a Curaga spell and released Sora's arm. Sora flexed his arm and fingers: all the pain was gone. He looked up at Javon and gave him a wide grin.

"Thanks! Uh... are you Javon?"

"Yes. Shen found you, but said you were separated from your companions, so I found them."

Sora looked over at Riku and Kairi, who appeared disheveled and worn. He glanced at Kairi, still wearing Riku's overgrown, and now tattered coat, and laughed, stepping towards them.

"Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah. Riku crashed the ship though--"

"Of course we did, we had to, it was damaged beyond repair--!"

"And Javon helped us find you."

Riku turned away in annoyance, instead taking in the room. Sora led Kairi back to the bed, both sitting on the low edge, while Javon, took his place against the wall, crossing his arms, and gazing over the three.

"Where are we?" Riku asked, gazing out the window with his arms crossed.

"Mid Town. It's our home, for now."

The silver-haired teen raised an eyebrow.

"'For now'?"

Javon made to speak, but turned to see Shen walk in from the other room. She stopped and stared, wide-eyed, at the newcomers. Kairi offered a small smile in greeting, but Riku continued to look at her with a hard face.

The silence continued, with Sora shifting awkwardly. After another moment, Sora had had enough.

"Well, thank you very much for helping us. I think we should get going, we have to find our other companions--"

"It's not a good idea for you to go out there," Javon said.

"Er...why?"

"Thieves. Muggers. And Heartless."

"Why are there so many Heartless here?" Kairi asked. Sora looked at her.

"Were you attacked?"

"Yeah. Swarms of them. Riku and I would've been goners if Javon hadn't showed up."

"Do you know where your friends are?" Shen quietly asked. Riku and Kairi turned to face her, rather surprised since neither had actually heard her speak before. Sora shrugged.

"I don't know. We were attacked and we lost contact with them. Maybe if we go back to our ship, we could get the intercom to work..."

"It's broken. We tried already," Kairi said.

"Ah." Sora sighed, and turned to look at Riku, who had turned away from Shen and back towards the window. "What should we do?"

"We'll go and try to find them tomorrow."

"Why are you here?" inquired Shen suddenly.

"It's none of your business."

"Don't be so mean, Riku!" Kairi said. "They helped us!"

"Don't worry about it," Javon said, giving Shen a look that only Sora caught.

"Look, let's just...get some rest. We'll go find the king tomorrow..."

"The king--?" began Shen, but Javon cut in.

"Enough," he said quietly. He turned back to face their visitors. "We don't have much room, but it's a wise idea for you to rest here. There is another room past the kitchen, the three of you can sleep there."

Sora and Kairi nodded, and both stood up. Riku, however, remained planted exactly where he was and continued to glare at the strangers.

"You've asked us enough questions--"

"No they haven't!"

"You've been asking most of them!" Kairi piped in. Riku ignored her and Sora.

"--now answer me one. Where did did you steal it from?"

There was a cold silence in the room, with the exception of a sharp exclamation of "Riku!" coming from Kairi. Shen glanced fearfully at Javon; Javon calmly kept his gaze on Riku.

"I didn't steal it. Just like you and Sora and Kairi here--"

"You're not like us."

"Why do you say that?"

"We would've met before--"

"What are you talking about, Riku?" Sora piped up.

"He has a Keyblade," Riku responded, not breaking his gaze from Javon. Sora whipped around to look at Javon, who also refused to break aways his gaze from the silver-haired teen.

"Where did you get it?" Riku asked once more, this time with a dangerous tone in his voice that made Sora and Kairi take a step towards him.

"I didn't steal it. If you care to believe me, I don't remember where I got it from."

At that, Riku scoffed, and finally broke the gaze to look out the window once again. Sora cleared his throat, and stepped awkwardly towards Javon.

"Do you... really have one too? A Keyblade?"

Javon gave him a friendly smile before extending his arm out and summoning the mentioned weapon. Sora felt a strange excitement and curiosity surge through him..._another Keyblade wielder_...

"No wonder the Heartless are here... they're attracted to the Keyblade...but there's so many...you'd think there were two Keyblade wielders, but maybe you're just that strong! But this is so interesting... the only other Keybalde wielders I knew were my friends here, and now to think there was another one in a far world...I've gotta tell the king...!" Sora paced back and forth, evoking a strange gaze from Shen and an amused look from Javon and Kairi. Riku, however, only responded when he heard Sora mention "gotta tell the king", and stepped away from the window and in front of Sora.

"'Tell the King'? Are you saying that he should come with us?"

"Of course! We can't just leave them here! And not just him, I'm sure he wouldn't leave her, Shen, here either!" Behind him, Shen tensed, though not with fear. "Look at this world, they don't belong here!"

"No."

"Riku!" the two friends glared at one another. "They helped us!"

"And we've said thanks."

"No we haven't..." Kairi meagerly implied.

"Look, just get some rest. We can find your friends tomorrow," Javon said, gesturing to the last room in their strange little flat. Sora nodded and hurried towards it, with Kairi following. Riku looked after them, and then turned to look at the stranger, to whom he now had a fair amount of dislike towards.

"If Sora remains sore with me, it will be entirely your fault," he told them, before stalking off into the room after his friends, shutting the door behind him.

Shen stood against the wall, gazing sadly at the door.

"I hope they're not upset at one another..."

"They won't be. Sora really does seem too nice for his own good."

"Will we go with them, if they allow us?"

"Of course. It's what we wanted, wasn't it?" he said, looking at her before walking to the bed in the corner and sitting on it. Shen stayed rooted to her spot, before going to the farthest corner from Javon and pulling out her thick blankets.

Despite the couch that furnished the other wall of the room, she preferred the floor next to the window. Sleep was rare to come by for her, and she enjoyed passing the time away by gazing out at the city's night lights. Tonight, however, she couldn't sleep for a different reason: excitement. She was finally going to leave. Maybe she might make friends...Sora and Kairi appeared to be very friendly. Riku, however... Shen had a feeling that Riku was not a good choice to have as an enemy, even though she definitely did not want anybody as an enemy. It seemed that he, however, already saw her and Javon as an enemy.

She shuddered, and pulled the blankets around her, staring out the window.

* * *

"Gwarsh, this world doesn't look too fun, huh?" Goofy said, uncomfortably glancing around at the tall buildings, dilapidating in the musky morning. Donald uttered something that Goofy didn't quite catch, but from his tone, the duck too would like nothing better than to find the spikey-headed brat and his friends and get out. 

The king led their small group, each one of the warily eyeing the small amount of people traipsing their way through the streets. They stopped at a corner, unsure of which way to go.

"Maybe we should ask if they've seen kids that look like them..?" Donald asked.

"That might work," inquired Goofy.

"We could try finding the place where they crashed, they might have stayed around the ship--" Mickey said, although his words were drowned out by a piercing scream. The trio turned in the direction of the scream, which was comming from a long, narrow street. They ran towards it as a group of people hurried away.

"It's those things again!"

"One nearly got me!"

"Where's...where's my brother...! My brother!"

A young girl turned back, and followed Mickey, Donald and Goofy, who had stopped dead in their tracks.

"So the Heartless are here too, huh?" Donald said, pulling out his wand from beneath his little dark cloak. "THUNDAGA!"

Goofy whipped out his shield and hurled it towards the Heartless like a Frisbee. Only the king had noticed the young girl who had hurried back, her eyes glued onto her young brother, who had climbed onto a stack of boxes in an effort to avoid the little creatures gathered around.

"No! I've got to help him!" the girl began to ran forward, the the king held his arm back."What're you doing?! That's my BROTHER!"

"We'll get him," he said, unclenching his hand, and summoning the gold Keyblade. The girl locked her eyes on the weapon as the king hurried forward, swiping away the creatures. Within moments, Donald, Goofy an Mickey had finished off the small numbers of Heartless that had attacked the street, and Goofy hurried over to the young boy, offering his hand and smiling kindly at him.

"Are ya alright? You must've had quite a scare there!"

The boy took his hand and hopped down, but kept his eyes glued onto the weapon in the mouse-king's hand, as he had been looking at it throughout the small battle. His older sister hurried over to him and pulled him away from Goofy, warily eyeing the Keyblade.

"That...thing..."

The three stared, confused, at the boy and girl.

"It's the Keyblade!" Goofy piped up. "You two haven't seen three kids around here, have ya? Two of them are boys, one of them is a girl...they all have a Keyblade too, we were attacked and we lost track of them..." his voice faltered as he saw a look of utmost terror on the girl's face.

_"Three more _have that weapon" she gasped, backing farther away from them.

"There's more here with Keyblades?!" Donald asked.

"Go away."

Mickey frowned at her. Why was she so terrified?

"Go away!" cried the girl again, backing farther away and pulling her brother with her, who had gazed curiously at the funny-looking strangers. "First it was those two...they carried that damned key! They brought those creatures! It's been worse and worse since! Now more of you...go away! Go away and live this town alone!"

With that, the girl ran away, clinging her brother to her. The young boy turned and waved before they turned the corner.

"'Those two'..." Mickey turned to face his friends. "I think the ones Cloud was talking about are here." He turned to his friends, who were confused. "Back at Radiant Garden, Cloud managed to mumble something to Sora... 'I saw one similar to there there...' Cloud was in this world before, that's why I wanted to come. I think he saw another Keyblade."

"Well, if there are other Keyblade wielders here, that explains the Heartless. They're drawn to the Keyblade, aren't they?" Donald said, crossing his arms in thought.

"Yep."

"D'ya think those two found Sora, Riku and Kairi?" Goofy asked.

"It's possible..."

"Welp," Mickey began, indicating behind Donald and Goofy. "Perhaps we might be close. The Heartless are drawn to the Keyblade, and if there's this many, we might be close." Donald and Goofy turned to find a fresh hoard of Heartless approaching.

"Geez, give us a break, will ya!" Donald shouted, before shouting out another powerful thunder curse.

* * *

**He landed painfully on the dusty ground, the hard metal that made up his armor bashing against his body. He wearily gazed at his comrade, who had knelt next to him in concern.**

**He could hear laughter not far. Cold, cruel laughter...**

**"I told you to watch out."**

_'Watch out...?'_

**"You were stupid to deny it from the beginning..."**

_'Deny...?'_

_**Thumping noises**_**... was that his heart, beating frantically in fear of being lost?**

**"You're his pawn."**

_'Pawn? Who's...'_

_**The thumping grew louder... it was filling his ears with noise...**_

**"Of course."**

**A flash of light, and his comrade was thrown several feet away from him. A helmeted gaze met him, though he could just picture the cruel smirk underneath the helmet. The blonde, though weak with injuries, glared at him with all his might.**

_**Ba-thump...ba-thump...thump...thumpthump...thumpthump...**_

_'Who is that...?'_

**"You have always been his pawn."**

"Sora!"

Sora leapt up as if buckets of ice-cold water were thrown at him, and he woke up to find Kairi shaking him awake.

"Oh, morning Kairi! Wow, that was some--what's wrong?" he asked, noticing she has a look of complete terror on her face. From the other room, he could hear thumping noises. "What's going...?"

"Sora, get over here!" He heard Riku's voice. Sora leapt up from his sleeping spot on the floor and ran into the next room. He found Riku, Javon and Shen grasping their weapons, ready to attack if they needed and the door was rattling madly. Taking a look outside the window, Sora saw that mornings, too, lacked light, as it was gloomy and cloudy. He gave a puzzled look to Javon, who caught his gaze.

"Heartless," he said, indicating to the door.

"Heartl--why?" he asked, summoning his Keyblade and joining the others. Kairi made up the rear of the group as she summoned Princess Guard. Shen looked around at her companions and felt incredibly inferior. She looked away..._if only..._

"It's not a good idea to place so many Keyblades and their bearers in one spot. Heartless sense it soon enough."

"Is there no other way out of here?" Riku demanded, looking around the room.

"Unless you want to fall several hundred feet out the window, no," Javon replied coolly, much to Riku's agitation. He had no time to respond, and the door was suddenly thrown open, and Heartless spilled in.

Javon threw himself at them, slashing and slashing. They began to sink into the floor and crawl towards Sora. He grabbed Kairi and moved to the door, Kairi swiping at it. Shen, who's weapon didn't seem to posses much strength, hurried after Sora, taking her swipes at the Heartless. Her staff was nowhere near as strong as the Keyblades her companions wielded, though it did it's share of usefulness as it swiped the Heartless a good distance away from the group. Riku brought up the end of the group, making sure the Heartless didn't attempt to sneak up behind them.

Out into the dark hallway they ran, and the hallway, too, was crowded with the Shadows.

"Why the hell are there so many!" Riku shouted.

"There are four strong hearts here, four Keyblades. It's nothing but a feast to Heartless," Shen replied, jabbing her staff out and ferociously swiping it in a wide circle.

"Then you consider yourself safe because Heartless don't want weak hearts, huh?" Riku smirked. He didn't catch the glimpse of hurtfulness that flashed across her face.

"The view is nice from the room you were staying and all, but why did you choose to live so far up?" Sora muttered mostly to himself, although Javon definitely heard him, and smirked. Sora received no reply

They reached the end of the hallway, and the group clattered down the stairs. To their frustration, though...

"Will they never quit?" Sora shouted, not taking notice of a Heartless that leapt out from his left. Kairi turned and swiped Princess Guard at the Heartless. "Thanks Kairi!"

"Just keep running!" she shouted." Let's just get out of here, don't worry if we finish them off or not!"

"That's a good idea," Javon said. "Don't worry, just run and attack only if they come too near."

With that, the group paused for a second, before they burst into a sprint down the stairs. Heartless continued to leap out and claw at them and scratch at them, but they merely moved them out of their way.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of endless staircases (which felt strangely and eerily familiar to Sora), they reached the bottom floor. Sora threw himself at the door and tried to pry it open, but the door wouldn't budge.

"It's locked!" he shouted, slamming his entire weight on the door.

"And what's in your hand, you idiot, a broom?!" Riku angrily shouted, as three or four Shadow Heartless attempted to attack him at once. "Unlock it with the Keyblade!"

Sora blinked, and feeling more idiotic than ever, he pointed his Keyblade at the door. It clicked unlocked. Hoping his face wasn't too red with embarrassment, he pushed open the door and tumbled out onto the street. He looked up and found even more Heartless out on the street. He stood up, however, just in time to be struck by a bolt of lighting, which hit the Heartless as well, dispersing them into black smoke.

"Ow!"

"Sora?"

He turned and saw Donald, gaping at him.

"Sora! We found you! Goofy, Your Majesty, he's here! So are the others-!" Donald had begun to run towards Sora, but stopped when he caught sight of Javon and Shen. "Who're they?" he asked, rather bluntly.

"This is Shen," Sora indicated to the blue-haired girl, who tilted her head shyly in greeting. He then pointed to the brown-haired boy, who had something of a smile playing on his lips. "And this is Javon. They found us, and they helped us get away from the Heartless."

"We were so worried about you guys!" Goofy cried out, running forward and crushing Sora in a hug.

"Ah...yeah, we were too," Sora said, rubbing his ribs. "Did you make it safely through those...whatever they were..?"

"We did. They barely attacked us. They were mostly attacking you," Mickey explained. Out of the corner of his eye, Riku thought he saw Shen's arm twitch, but she merely continued to look at the group before her.

"Your Majesty," Sora continued, and then he pointed at Javon. "He wields a Keyblade, too-"

"You're the other Keyblade wielder?!" Donald cut in. He stared at Javon, and Javon held out the weapon for them to see.

"We heard about you two," Mickey said, stepping forward to look at the red-and-black spoked Keyblade. "From what we heard, you two aren't very welcome here, are ya?"

"We're not, but you heard them say there are _two_ Keyblade wielders?" Javon asked, looking at Shen. She stared at him for a moment before turning away. "There's only one," he said.

"Hm, how odd..." Mickey trailed off in thought.

"You're majesty, they can't stay here! Not in a place like this, not if people are blaming them for the Heartless-!" Sora started, but Riku cut in.

"They can't come with us! This is meddling with other world's affairs-!"

"Even if we tried to help this world with the Heartless, it seems none of us are very welcome here anyways!"

The two glared at one another before turning to the king, both sounding extremely childish. "Your Majesty, make him understand!" they shouted in unison. Goofy ducked behind his shield to chuckle: even when fighting, those two were incredibly similar.

The king looked mildly amused, and was about to reply when he heard of group of voices at the end of the alley. The king, his magician and captain, the girl and the four Keyblade wielders turned to look at the group, and a person at the front pointed at them.

"There they are! They're even more!"

"We've had enough of the trouble you've brewed for us!"

"It's time they're removed from this place!"

"All of you, to the ship, now!" the king said, and they ran the to the opposite end of the alley.

"Where is it?" Kairi huffed, grasping Sora's hand to keep up with the group. Sora glanced at her, and noticed a scratch on her arm: not a horrible wound but nevertheless it looked rather painful. He had no time to ask her about it, though.

"Not far, just follow me!" Donald quacked. The group (_more like a mob_, Roxas though, and Sora agreed) sounded as if they were nearing the fleeing children and strangers. They reached the end of the alley, and turned to the left, running down the street, receiving strange stares from the people walking along. When the people heard the mob's screams, they knew who the running group were: some actually jumped into the chase after them.

"What did you guys do to get them to hate you like this!?" Riku panted. Javon merely smiled and continued to run, but Shen looked even more trouble.

"Nothing," she said very quietly. She was sure no one hear her.

"There it is!" Sora cried, grasping Kairi's hand tighter. _'Almost there...'_

Sora expected something else to stop them from ever reaching the ship, but the to his intense relief, he found himself clamoring into the familiar colors and gadgets that made the Gummi Ship. Wasting no time, he released Kairi's hand, who moved to help the other in, and Sora climbed up the ladder and into the ship's cockpit. He was soon joined by Riku and King Mickey, and the three worked as quickly as possible to get the ship's engines started.

The door's to the ship closed just as the angry mob reached them. Sora thought they were rather pathetic: they wanted them to leave, so why were they trying to stop them?

A moment later, the ship rose into the air, and soon enough, the ship was out of Mid Town's atmosphere. Once he noticed that those strange things that had attacked him were no where to be seen, Sora let out a huge sigh and slumped in his seat, more exhausted than he could remember. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep. Riku, still rather sore at him, scoffed and got up from his seat to join the other's below. The king stared at Sora.

Deciding not to wake Sora up, the king remained in his seat. Although they had done what they had planned to accomplish, he was quite sure Sora didn't know they had been successful. Knowing Sora, he had probably forgotten Cloud's words when he had found him in the basements of Hollow Bastion.

No to see who these strangers really were, the king thought. He wasn't sure himself, but something told him, that in the near future, they were in for a nasty surprise.

* * *

To be continued...

My GOD I hated this chapter. I don't hate what it has, I just hated writing it. It just did not want to come out. Sheesh. I'm sorry for those who are keeping tabs on this story. With school and finding a new addiction in Tsubasa Chronicle, it's been a bit tough.

I will not abandon this story, though. Rest assured. Just know it has a long way to go, heheh.

Next chapter will hopefully be up sooner than how long it took to post his one. Sorry again!

Thanks for read, reviews much appreciated!


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